Wow, I do love Quebec. Even with my minimal French-speaking skills it is still a lot of fun to go there. And it's not just the food this time!

Last weekend we went to Quebec City for the Quebec International Air Show. IT was a treat since the Bule Angels and Thunderbirds, not to mention the Snowbirds and Red Arrows, all performed. We got hang out in the VIP tent hosted by the airport and flew on the fight from Chicago that Martin and his group were responsible for creating. It was kind of cool to fly on something that Martin worked so hard to get into the system! The VIP tent wasn't bad either and we got to chat with several people from the Quebec airport, eat the best salmon I've had hands down, and we even got baseball caps. All the food was delicious and then some of the women were glad to practice their English with us. A brief rain storm almost cancelled the Thunderbirds, but it was fun to watch MArtin be stubborn and sit in the rain! We wandered out of the tent briefly and found two women from the Thunderbirds and got my picture made. This was after I confronted three Blue Angels guys and got my pic made with them also. They were all super friendly but then again, that's their job!

After the air show, we went back to our hotel, the Delta, in downtown just a few blocks from the Old City. We returned to Paillard for sandwiches since we had been eating almost all day. It had been raining off and on all day so the old city was soaked and quite cool. Martin had a pain au chocolat for dessert and I had my new favorite sweet: pistachio macaron.

The next day, Sunday, we took the rental car and drove to the Ile D'Orleans. We drove across the narrow suspension bridge to the island for a 40-mile circle drive around the island. We stoipped at the visitor center and then a local eatery for a warm lunch before driving through the little villages. There were little farms and B&Bs and auberges( small hotels with restaurants) and places that sold art or fudge. It was quite quaint. We would probably eventually like to stay here at some point since it was very rural and friendly. We bought fudge and climbed an observation tower on the east end of the island where we got to see Cap Tourmente. I liked the name but the low rolling clouds made it exceptional.
After the Ile D'Orleans we drove like mad to the Canyon Ste Anne area east of Quebec City. We had 1 1/2 hours of climbing across rope bridge and down stairs. It was a really nice area since nothing was built up around it and it was quiet since no one was around. We got their a little before closing time and we only saw about 5 other people the whole time. The entry was decorated with giant wooden animals like bunnies, foxes and bears. The bridges were all cable suspension and pretty shaky since Martin likes to stomp his feet. The falls that go through the canyon were pretty amazing. They were really strong and it was very humid from all the splashing and mist. It was fun time but ultimately it got really hot.

We drove back to Quebec City when they closed the falls for the evening. We changed and cleaned up and walked to the Old City for a delicious meal at the restaurant Le Cochon Dingue (The Crazy Pig). Martin had a steak and I had sausages - my fave was the lamb with mint.

The next morning we got up early and drove to the airport to return our car and then sneaked into the VIP Lounge for croissants and coffee. It was very fancy with a big beautiful fireplace in the center and modern furnishings. Really should have taken a picture of it actually. There are soom cool pictures of the airport on their site. We flew home and then we both parted ways to go to our respective workplaces.

Due to high demand, I am writing about the fun time I spent with mi madre earlier this month. Cannot believe I forgot fill everyone in on what fun we had!
My mom arrived on Wednesday and took the exciting employee bus to meet Martin at his old office building. That seemed exciting for my mom. She got to talk to flight attendants. On Thursday, she did my laundry and watched some tv while I was at work.

Friday was my day off of work so we decided to have a bit of fun and drive to the Chicago Botanical Garden in Glencoe. It is almost due east of my house, but about 23 miles away. Well worth the trip! We explored almost all the gardens and oohed and aahed over the purple lilies, the Japanese garden, and gorgeous English walled garden. We also discovered the beauty of colombines. (We finally found them in seed form at the Lowe's). We got caught in a rainstorm while admiring the beehive they have installed. We found the Queen and then mom bought a pretty tea towel with a recipe for gazpacho on it. After the walk around all the gardens we headed to Highland Park and the semi-kosher Jewel. I bought meat and other delights including babaganoush, hummus and pita.

Saturday was filled with a lot of bending over in the yard. We transferred my seedlings to the ground but failed to get started on the big dreams I have of building a raised garden bed along the back fence. Martin worked in the pool and mom and I planted and weeded and tried to climb a ladder to trim the high branches away from the house. We succeeded, sort of. We also went to Loew's and bought topsoil to put into the hole in the backyard by the drain thing. We used three bags but it still wasn't quite enough. We cooked kosher steaks on the grill and then enjoyed losing our power for about 9 hours. We also watched the first episode of "Swingtown" before the power went out and mom decided to camp out on the basement stairs for an hour while she just "knew" there was a tornado coming!

On Sunday we took the Metra downtown to the Printer's Row Book Fair. We wandered around,looked at a ton of books and avoided about three-quarters of a downpour by eating a small pizza for lunch. Mom bought some small movie posters for dad and then we headed to the CPL building to hear Mark Kurlansky. He writes about the history of foods: salt, cod, oysters. Really good non-fiction. I am really into that these days for some reason. He was absolutely a wonderful talker and very interesting! We bought two of his books that we had not yet read and got him to sign them for us, but not before mom invited him to come to Pensacola for a visit and write about the fishing inductry in Florida. She even gave him her business card.
We stopped in at a local non-chain bookstore and bought Martin a book on airlines and then we wandered back toward the train station. The train was packed but quiet and we decided to sit up top and enjoy the ride.

On Monday I had to go to work, but mom hung out at the house and did her own laundry, watched some Magnum P.I. and read the Moonspinners. We had yummy pasta with sauce for dinner. Tuesday morning I drove her to the airport for her early flight. Even though she was here for almost 6 days it felt much shorter. Next month she is bringing my Dad for a visit so that should be fun too!

Some people are just sick to use a little hedgie as a weapon.
Why anyone would do that is beyond me. Hedgehogs do not make good helmets or scack for a game of hacky sack.
We returned from Houston this weekend without delay. We got to stay with our friends Jason and Robin and we attended a BBQ for our friends Greg and Samantha who were married earlier this month on a cruise in the Mediterranean. Ooh-la-la indeed! One conclusion I cam to on this trip: Texas is hot in May. Darn hot.

Currently I would like to buy two totally unnecessary items: A taters of the Lost Ark Mr. Potatohead and a Travelocity Gnome.

Why you might ask? because they look kinda fun.