Joyeux Noel!

A Christmas day on the beach! In a place that should be covered in snow, there was not much snow to be found on Christmas day! For that matter, it wasn't that cold either. Nonetheless, as is always the case, it was nice to be home with friends and family. This past Christmas eve will be remembered as being the funniest and craziest family gathering of all times! In good typical French Acadian fashion, acadian music, signing and dancing were all part of the evening... should I also mention that costumes were also part of the evening! Does it ever feel good to be home!

Today, mother nature is back on track announcing 15 cetemeters of snow... not enough for a storm but enough so that it feels like winter, as it should.

Below are some pictures...

A Christmas day walk on the beach...

My sister and I on Christmas day...

Picture of my parent's backyard... finally, some snow!

A day in the City of Bath

Today, we took part in an organized trip by our College to the City of Bath. The City was magnificent! No matter where you stand in Bath, you enjoy a fantastic view! The architecture is just incredible and the streets are filled with street performers, cafes and cool boutiques. Of course, we were in time for the wonderful Christmas market which attracted tons of tourists.

A visit to bath does obviously entail a visit of the Roman Baths which dates back to 860 B.C.. The most impressive part in all of this was the heating system that they had in place to heat up the rooms. They had hot air circulate under the floors. To use the words from Obelix: "Ils ne sont pas fous ces romains!".

When visiting the Roman Baths Museum, there was lots of emphasis on the spiritual connection associated with this site since the Romans Baths were built around the springs and a temple was dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva. The story has it that the water of the baths would help with healing.

We then went on to visit the residential Royal Crescent which was built in the 1700s. It is said to be one of the most distinctive example of Georgian architecture in the world! We actually went inside and visited No. 1 Royal Crescent, which gives a glimpse of what life was like for aristocrats of that time. The older ladies working this museum were the funniest! They gave us a different perspective on the city. They compared it to the "Las Vegas" of the time! The coolest and the richest all lived there during that period to play, take baths, and meet their future spouses! ;o)

Below are some pictures of our trip!

Beautiful scenary on route...

The Roman Baths...

(Statutes of famous romans including Julius Caesar)

View of the Abbey from the Roman Baths...

Bath Abbey...

View of Pulteney Bridge...

(This bridge was built in the 18th century)

Our last stop on the tour...

Royal Crescent...

Ho! Ho! Hooray! for Harrods!

For those who know me well, I do not normally enjoy shopping... BUT, Christmas shopping in London is amazing! So much fun! It felt just like being on a movie set! Harrods is absolutely fantastic! It has everything and by everything I mean there even is a 'Chocolate bar'! Yes, you've read correctly... a bar... like a pub... but a 'Chocolate bar'... For those who have never heard of Harrods, its one of the oldest Department stores, with over 330 Departments and dates back to the 1849! It sells absolutely everthing for everyone! You can even have a personnal shopper! They also sell houses, yatchs (we were tempted!)... you name it, they have it! And, only there would you see a battery car for kids more expensive than our real car at home! Yupe, that's right! And, only there would you see a basket of chocolate for 250 pounds which comes roughly to $500.00 Canadian! All in all, we did manage to find some pretty good deals! The ceilings, the chandeliers and the Christmas decorations were incredible! I have to say, that I got most impressed by the food selection! Everything looked so good! Ps.: No, I am not working for Harrods, but working to shop at Harrods!

We then took the tube over to Piccadilly Circus to check out the Famous Sport Store where Greg alleges he has lost 200 pounds as a kid when he last visited London with his parents. Thanks to me being present we only lost about 50! We then walked all the way down to Regent's Street - where we went into a children's store that claims to be the best Children's store in the world... having only visited 3 stories of what appeared to be many more... I believe it! We then went on to Oxford Street. Now, that's also pretty cool shopping! All the boutiques you can imagine and add more than you can ever imagine! Tons of shopping, but with that came tons of people! One word to describe Oxford Street before Christmas "Insane!". It is absolutely crazy! We had a fabulous time! So, the expression... shop t'ill you drop! that's what we did today! Now, with most of the Christmas shopping done, feet up, gym, sauna, nice dinner and a bit of reading awaits us! I love Christmas - all we are missing is family... see you all soon!

Les derniers jours en bref...

La soirée de samedi soir à été monopolisé par M. Bond et M. Dion. Pour débutée, la soirée du bal de noel au thème de James Bond était des plus spectaculaire. Le tapis rouge, les lumières, les palmiers et les monsieurs aux noeuds papion étaient bien au rendez-vous. La soirée était des plus amusante - spécialement considérant le fait que les martinis étaient gratuits!! Quoique, je dois admettre que la conversation entre canadiens était monopolisé par la Convention du parti libéral. Bien entendu, en raison du décalage horaire, le reste de la soirée à été comblée par l'écoute des discours des candidats sur CPAC jusqu'au petites heures du matin!

Dimanche, nous avons assiter à un service de l'avant des plus mémorables - des chants de noel à la lumière des chandelles. Les chants provenaient d'un bout a l'autre du globe et étaient interprétés dans différentes langues. J'ai même profiter de l'occasion pour essayer de chanter en mandarin.... a mon propre désespoir, ce n'était pas mieux que lorsque je chante en français ou même en anglais!

Le reste de la semaine, aussi banal soit-il, à été consacrée aux études! ;o) Ce soir, nous avons un souper de noel au collège et demain je prévois affronter la foule et me rendre sur Oxford Street & Covent Garden pour faire du magasinage...

A Canadian Evening in London

It all started with a reception at the residence of the Canadian High Commissioner in London. The reception was organised for all postgraduate students studying in the UK. We had a wonderful time and met lots of new people. A few words are warranted to describe the residence of the High Commissioner... absolutely stunning! high ceilings, georgous paintings and absolutely magnificent chandeliers! The residence is located on Grosvenor Square at the heart of London and minutes from the vibrant Oxford Street. I have to admit that walking on Oxford Street was a spectacular experience in and of itself! It felt just like being on a movie set... Christmas lights like I have never seen before, Christmas music and tons of people walking down the street with their umbrellas... under the sprinkle of rain which made everything look more brilliant than I suspect it is normally!

We left the reception early, in London's typical fashion.. by taking a black cab! Then, we went on to Greg's hockey game against Southampton. It was nice to finally meet all of his new friends! The game was awesome! And, there is something to be said about the fries and hot chocolate served at an arena... it's always the best! Greg's team won 8-6! Needless to say, that I was surprised to see Greg playing on the first and second line the entire game! It was the quickest hockey I've ever seen Greg play... yes, I am just trying to fuel the fire for those Wingnuts players!

Tonight, we have our Christmas ball 'a la Casino Royal'... apparently, there will be a red carpet and palm trees... let's just wait and see!