Pit stop in Montreal

So we are back in Saint John and to its credit, the town now boasts a bookstore on the main street “uptown”. There are even 2 books in its window that I want to read. We landed back here on Monday to join Mike who was already back earning the tofu. Seb jumped straight into drama and daycare and tickets to Peter Pan and a sleep over at Gramps & Nana’s. He is very happy to be back and settling into life super fast as we had predicted.

Sophie is ever flexible and doesn’t seem to mind which bed she wakes up in. She loves the space of our temporary home (we have a sublet for 5 months). Unfortunately, she finally succumbed to the cold/virus that had Seb feverish/exhausted/hacking - take your pick - for 8 of the 12 days we were travelling. He is still hacking and she got a mild case of croup which seems to have passed. If anyone knows of anything we can do to ease the small chickenpox scars she has on her forehead, let me know. Sophie is waving and cheering on request. She stands unsteadily and loves to walk along holding your hand. She can go for hallways and hallways.

Montreal was terrific, made all the better by staying right in Old Montreal with its cobblestones and restaurants. The highlight for Seb was undoubtedly the caleche ride we took with my parents on the last day, though Westmount Park rated highly (where Seb commandeered a water gun and sprayed his Grandad). My highlight was welcoming 12 year old Norwan on her 2nd solo trip to see us. How grown up - and helpful - she is! We drank delicious hot chocolate in a trendy neighbourhood café, we went to a costume shop just around the corner, we visited with my friend Deb and her 2 boys aged same as our pair, we found a delightful independent bookshop, we “researched” a number of local delis, we rode the metro, and got the big -but manageable - city vibe.
We did a houseswap and the first part went well (our co-exchangers are going to Issigeac in 2 weeks). We had a gorgeous condo in one of Montreal's oldest residential buildings. The steep stairs up were a problem for all of us but we coped. Seb took over the dressing room as his little bedroom. I managed to baby-proof the place - tho Sophie loved dipping her hands into the soil of the potted plants.
I should get going to bed as the nights are often interrupted by coughing, but just wanted to post a note and some photos. (I actually put this up the next morning - after we were woken 3 times btw the 2 kids...).