COMING SOON: More of the same...

STAY TUNED!!!

RUSSELL 16NOV22: I love you, you're perfect, now change! - Tessa has been performing in an amusing dinner theatre show called Oh Canada, eh? for more than a year... but this entry is not about that. She took a week off from that show to perform on violin in a community theatre presentation of I love you, you're perfect, now change! We went to see the show and enjoyed it immensely, a fabulous effort by local (mostly Russell) thespians, bravo, well done!

Too bad they misspelled Tessa's name in the program: Violin - Tessa Banks.

OTTAWA 24JUN13: Ella is back... from the dead! - Ella is performing as a domesticated zombie (one of the Zombie Horde) in a local theatrical production called Die, Zombie Die!, being staged as part of the Ottawa Fringe Festival. It is a clever little play with snappy dialogue and hilarious one-liners.

It is good to see Ella back on stage.

OTTAWA 24SEP12: Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Edinburgh... - Looking for eine kleine nachtmusik for your next wine & cheese, wedding or wake?

The Glorianna String Quartet features four talented young musicians from the Arts program at Canterbury High School, including Tessa and Ella on violin. Since forming in the spring of 2012, the quartet has already had a couple of illustrious engagements - a corporate meet and greet at the Chateau Laurier, and performing at the Duke of Edinburgh Award ceremony at the Conference Centre in Ottawa, where they had the opportunity to chat with HRH Prince Edward.

Both Tessa & Ella agreed that HRH spoke "perfect English"...

OTTAWA 14SEP12: A-hahahahahahah... wipeout! - Riding my bike home from work last night... was racing through a red light, slightly distracted by another cyclist trying to cut me off from the left... at the last moment, saw a group of pre-schoolers accompanying a lady with a baby stroller about to step out into the crosswalk ahead of me... slammed on my brakes!

The bike stopped, I didn't. Over the handle bars I flew, hitting the pavement directly in front of the pre-schoolers in a crouched hands-and-knees position. I recall the top of my head butting the ground hard... thank God I was wearing a helmet.

I got up, slightly dazed, the startled pre-schoolers all whimpering, the lady with the stroller swearing at me. The pinky on my left hand was sticking out at an odd angle. "That doesn't look good..." Thinking maybe it was dislocated, I pulled on it to try to ease it back in the socket. It didn't work. I stumbled over to the sidewalk and collapsed on a bit of grass. All I wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep.

Lots of concerned onlookers, asking if I needed an ambulance... someone took my bike off the road and lay it down beside me. Just about that time, Lauree cycled by on her way home from work... she noticed the commotion and was shocked to discover me at the centre of it.

She took charge and within the half hour we were waiting in Emergency at the Civic Hospital.

Result of cycling mishap: broken and displaced left pinky, fractured right wrist, bruised ribs, bruised knees.
Recovery time: 6 weeks, plus physio.

OTTAWA 06MAR12: Concert at Canada's National Arts Centre - From the time the girls were first sawing away at their fiddles, it has been our dream for them to perform in the Ottawa Youth Orchestra. Over the years, they had been steadily working their way up through the various ensemble groups, cutting their musical teeth gaining valuable experience and making very good progress, but suddenly that blueprint for success stopped short when we went off touring with Cirque du Soleil.

When we returned in January 2011, one of the first things we did was get back into the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy.

This season, Ella is in the 1st violin section of the Ottawa Junior Youth Orchestra, and Tessa is in the 2nd violin section of the targeted primo group, the Ottawa Youth Orchestra, under the baton of John Gomez.

All this to say, last night, Tessa had an amazing experience. The Ottawa Youth Orchestra teamed up with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra to perform Gustav Holtz's "The Planets" at the National Arts Centre here in Ottawa. A 140 musician orchestra under the direction of Maestro David Currie blasted away at the Planets, the frenetic Mars, the majestic Jupiter, the surreal Saturn... it was all quite fantastic!

Thank you Attila for patiently keeping the girls at their violin studies while we were on tour. The proof is in the galactic pudding!

AUSTIN 03MAR12: Lauree's Celebrity Encounter - "I'll be giving some guy named Robert Rodriguez a backstage tour on Sunday. Ever hear of him?" she says.

"Uhhh, what? Are you kidding me?!!"

Of course, the talented director of the Spy Kids trilogy, From Dusk Til Dawn, Sin City, Planet Terror... he's done some fantastic work!

Turns out, he's a really nice guy too, laid back and down to earth.

OTTAWA 31MAR11: Lauree's laugh of the day: "They call me Sniff!" - in a Skype chat with Lauree, Tessa wrote:

"if you talk to ella and it's on video and she sniffs, tell her to stop!!! She sniffs every 4-8 seconds. It is really annoying and dad and i keep telling her to stop sniffing and she keeps saying to me "i'm allowed to sniff if i want" . dad and i think she has a mild (well could be more than mild since its literally every 5 seconds) mild case of torrette syndrome. i think she should be taken to the doctor for it."

NASHVILLE 15FEB11: Through Lauree's eyes - Not too much to do on the little time off... the Grand Ole Opry moved from its original location at the Ryman Auditoium in 1974, and is now housed at Opry Mills Mall. Lauree did attend a Nashville Predators NHL game to cheer for the visiting team, the Vancouver Canucks - GO CANUCKS!

A road trip to Memphis proved a little more interesting... she toured Graceland, and (best of all), Sun Studios!

And we all got T-shirts.

OTTAWA 30JAN11: Ottawa Winter tradition - Went skating on the canal today, just a block from our home. We were a bit rusty when it came to skating... we only made it from Dow's Lake to the Canal Ritz and back... we'll do the full length next time.

Enjoyed the apres-skate hot chocolate and beavertail...

OTTAWA 18JAN11: Real life... - We woke up chilled to the bone this morning, it was only 6 degrees Celcius inside on the main level of our home.

I suspected the furnace was not working properly the night before, but the house temperature was comfortable enough, and a nice fire made all the difference. This morning confirmed our furnace troubles.

A fellow from Sears showed up at the door (that is what got us out of bed!)... he had come to replace the door on our new refrigerator, which was DOD (dented on delivery). He asked why it was so cold in our house, and Lauree tearfully gave him the lowdown.

As luck would have it, this fellow announced: "I am also a furnace repairman!" He dashed down into the bowels of the house (which was considerably colder than the main floor), examined the beast, figured out that a switch was not working, re-configured the wiring to bypass the switch, made some calls, went out and picked up a replacement switch, and then installed the replacement switch.

Now how lucky is that?!!!

CHICOUTIMI 16JAN11: In the wilds of Quebec - it could have been worse here, much colder or with a lot more snow, but it is still a bit of a let-down, considering all of the exotic places we have landed in during our travels. Chicoutimi is just too familiar... hardly the locale we would have chosen for our adventure to end.

However, last night, after 4 continents, 15 countries, 36 cities and 550 shows, Ella made her last performance and took her final bow as Zoe in Quidam.

It is like waking up from a really terrific dream. We are all feeling it, but it is hitting Ella especially hard. She genuinely loves what she has been doing... the make-up, the costume, the stage, the songs, the characters, the artistic play (on-stage and backstage!), the delighted audiences, and, most of all, the magic.

Not once have I heard her complain about having to do a show... attend school, yes, but never a show. She preferred two show days... twice the opportunity to spend time under the big-top.

She is going to miss her on-stage colleagues, many who have become very good friends - Jamieson, Ardee, Lina, Dong Dong, the twins, Cory, new Ben, to name but a few - and, most of all, she is going to miss Zoe.

We all will.

QUEBEC CITY 08JAN10: La semaine est allee plus vite - We cannot believe how quickly the week went - Ella did a couple of shows, we visited the Plains of Abraham, had a great breakfast at Le Cochon Dingue in vieux ville... and that was it!

Nice city, though.

OTTAWA 01JAN11: Another new year - Spent New Year's Eve quietly with a few friends in the new kitchen of our new home. Then. back to Montreal and on the bus to Quebec City.

Our hotel is quite nice, and our room overlooks the St Lawrence River and the Plains of Abraham, where Wolfe and Montcalm battled it out a couple and a half of centuries back. We are right on the Grande Allee, a well-known boulevard lined with Victorian mansions converted to restaurants and brasseures, and only a few minutes walk to the walls of the quaint old city, cobble-stone streets, boutiques, bistros and bars.

Should be a fun city...

MONTREAL 26DEC10: Christmas in Montreal - The Christmas spirit fell upon us after the Thursday night show; the Bell Centre put on a spread for us, fantastic food, a pasta station, a roast meat station, a dessert table, seafood, open bar... a spread of a kind, I am sure, the Montreal Canadians hockey team has become accustomed to!

And it was a wonderful opportunity to acquaint ourselves with some of the new artists on tour... the new Banquine team was there, and the two new Zoes, Alex and Joi. Charming girls!

The party lasted until 3:00 am, and then we followed a strick Quebecois tradition and went to Dunn's for poutine! (And you hought Dunn's was all about smoked meat and cheescake!)

Then Christmas Eve... last minute shopping binge, then to chez Louise & Benoit's for tortiere (meat pie) and champagne, and an early mass, followed by french onion soup! Yum.

Christmas morning, the latest in our history of kids... 10:30! And we had to coerce Ella out of bed! Santa left a reasonable number of presents, thanks, and then we had smoked meat sandwiches at Dunn's and caught a movie, The Black Swan (excellent!). Then back to Louise & Benoit's and good company, Anne-Marie & Mike, Pascale & Ronald with kids Margot & Gael... more presents, more champagne, and an exquisite turkey dinner.

Joyeux Noel, Feliz Navidad, Feliz Natal and a Merry Christmas to all!

MONTREAL 23DEC10: Canadian History - After several years of travelling with the circus, experiencing other cultures, learning about the history of other places, I had the urge to indulge in some history of my own country, some good old Canadiana. So off I went to La Baie (aka The Bay) on St Catherine Street, to purchase a traditional wool Hudson's Bay blanket for the back seat of our vehicle (to take Winter's edge off).

The white-haired francophone gentleman serving me had nothing but praise for this quality English-made blanket... his dear mother had one for twenty years! He wrapped up the sale with a wink, stating: "The Queen's still good for something!"

Oh Canada...

MONTREAL 23DEC10: Montreal all week long - The week leading to Christmas here in Montreal has been wonderfully hectic, starting with the Saturday night opening, then the Monday night "premiere"; then regular shows with special visitors, family, friends and family friends!

The Saturday night opening went smoothly, Ella had the pleasure of again seeing Audrey Bigras-Jutras, original Zoe and daughter of the show's composer Benoit Jutras. Nice girl. Then the Monday night "premiere", attended in force by local vedettes (stars) - singer Garou, Gregory Charles, Jonas Tomalty, Sophie Vaillancourt, Denis Bouchard, Benoît Brière, Andrée Watters, Sylvain Cossette, Luc De Larochellière, Ali Gerba, Mario Jean, Daniel Grenier, Ricardo Larivée, Martin Matte, Caroline Néron, Ghyslain Dufresne... any of these names ringing a bell? The press was there as well, who tended to agree that the transformation from big-top to arena has destroyed the intimacy of the show. And more comments on Ella's haunting vocals...

Then regular shows with throngs of visitors... mostly family, many Cirque HQ friends, some Ottawa friends, and even a few fiddle friends (wonderful to see you all!). And more to come come between Christmas and New Year's!

It is certainly making the weeks fly by...

KINGSTON 14DEC10: The beginning of the end - Arena Tour has officially begun with our first Canadian stop, Kingston Ontario, where everyone has gotten a taste of our Canadian Winter... it's damn c-c-cold! Even we find it chilly... guess we've lost some of our hardiness over the past few years.

Kingston is a lovely city, small, but with a proud and very visible history. The city has maintained blocks upon blocks of century-old buildings and heritage homes, everything from stately manors to Victorian row-houses. Old Fort Henry is here (but locked up for the winter), Kingston Penitentiary is here (but locked up on an ongoing basis), and we can see several sights - fortified watch towers, the military college, the old Train Station, the CPR steam locomotive, Lake Ontario - from the wall-to-wall windows of our suite at the Radisson, where we have been treated very well indeed... I'm gonna miss them freshly-baked oatmeal cookies, and the complimentary Starbucks coffee!

Also within an easy walk of the hotel - Tim Hortons and Subway. And the KBC Pub and the Tir Nan Og Pub, both just across the street... our stay has been way to short!

The debut weekend was busy - Ella performed all shows - but what a home-coming! So many friends and family, travelling from all over Ontario to see us (and see the show, of course)... it was very special. Thank you everyone for your warm "welcome home"... sorry we couldn't spend more time with each one of you.

And the Happy Reunion Fiddle Jam/Start of Arena Tour Party at the Tir Nan Og Pub after the Saturday night show was crazy & fun - fiddle world meets circus world - everyone had a great time.

OTTAWA 25OCT10: Locoella! - We have been wondering why Ella has been bouncing off the walls for the past few days... she has been unusually hyperactive, bordering on "loco".

Then we noticed that the mints Lauree bought her in Vegas (because Ella liked the tin), mints that Ella has been popping on a regular basis... are CAFFEINATED!

We should have taken notice of the name on the tin:

UP ALL NIGHT IN VEGAS!

LAS VEGAS 24OCT10: What happens in Vegas... - Of course, both girls wanted to try out their luck at the slots. We found a row of 25 cent slot machines, figured out where to put the coin, then Ella pulled back the handle.

Her loss was barely registering when a security lady came rushing up demanding to see Ella's ID. We played dumb, stating that we were just seeing how the machine worked and so forth, and the lady started threatening a $10.000. fine, and we played even dumber, stating that we were just passing through and we were curious about the machines... maybe we should have told her Ella thought it was a gum machine or something (ah, hindsight!)

Anyway, we scooted out of there pretty quick, before we could get into any further trouble.

LAS VEGAS 24OCT10: The perfect plaid flannel shirt - The girls flipped when they found an Abercrombie & Fitch... style-guru Mark Ward (Jon) swears by it, and apparently, the thing to buy there (in addition to the sweat shirts and hoodies) is a plaid flannel shirt. Tessa found the perfect one for herself right away, and seeing as my opinion wasn't needed at the fitting rooms, I tasked myself to find the perfect one for Ella.

Choosing the perfect plaid flannel shirt is all relative... the various tartans all look pretty much alike. After deciding on a base colour, red, blue, black, white... the perfect plaid shirt is simply the one that stands out from whatever other plaid shirts are available.

The perfect one caught my eye, basically red with green squares, on a mannequin. I asked a sales clerk where I might find it in the store, but after a thorough search of various shelves (where I had already looked myself) and several minutes "in the back", the clerk informed me there were none. He said it must have been stock left over from last year.

I asked to buy the shirt on display, but I was told A&F's policy is not to sell clothing off the mannequins... something about pin holes!

So much for the perfect plaid flannel shirt.

Then, as if to mock me, everywhere I turned was a mannequin wearing the unavailable plaid flannel shirt, the one I wanted... I counted FIVE mannequins throughout the store wearing that shirt.

Just my luck to choose a tartan that is popular with mannequins!

LAS VEGAS 24OCT10: Viva Las Vegas! - It is everything you would expect it to be... flashy, full of glitter and lights! Everything is completely over the top, with full-size replicas of everything from the Eiffel Tower to the Sphinx to the Campanile from Piazza San Marco in Venice to Elvis! And surprisingly... we loved it all!

Our first stop was to The Mirage... Lauree had arranged for us to meet up with the teacher (Andrew) and school kids from Love (John, George, John, Paul, Richard and Paul)... but little did we expect to get a full behind-the-scenes tour from Technical Director Paul Reames, who has been associated with the show since its conception! It was amazing! We went under the stage to marvel at the mechanics of the lifts, we went above the stage to marvel at the mechanics of the overhead dollies, and checked out the props, the backstage, the sound booth... there is even a special room in the sound booth with duplicate instruments to those used by The Beatles at Abbey Road Studio, so that George Martin feels at home when he (or his son Giles) comes to Vegas make any necessary edits to the music for the show.

Mr Reeves also explained the security measures in place to protect the music, which I thought was rather odd, since anyone can purchase the show's music on CD. What I did not realize is that LOVE has in its possession, every individual track of each song used in the show, e.g., Paul's bass track, John's vocal track, Ringo's tambourine track... and for every show, the individual tracks are played live, as a mix from the sound booth (at least, this is what I gathered from Mr Reeve's explanation!). Pretty cool!

The show itself was wonderful, some truly beautiful moments... the opening with Because sung acapella, George's acoustic version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Sun King with backward vocals, Here Comes The Sun... and I have never heard the music sound so good! What a sound system they have there at The Mirage!

After watching the early show for Love, we hustled over to Treasure Island to catch the late showing of Mystere... we recognized a lot from Quidam, and the Clown Baby was hysterical - mama!

Next day walking the strip (Las Vegas Blvd) and seeing so many famous casinos was exciting (for me, anyway) - The Sahara, The Riviera, The Flamingo - I half expected to run into Frankie, Joey, Peter, Sammy and Dean (no Tessa, not The Killers). The day was pretty much spent like money... not at the casinos, but shopping, like we have rarely shopped before - Abercrombie & Fitch, The Love Boutique, The Mystere Boutique, the Coca-Cola Store, the M&M store, souvenir shops - none were spared our attention or our dollars!

The spending spree only subsided long enough to catch KA over at the MGM Grand... not our favourite show seen, but, as we all agreed, probably the most impressive of the three. Then we spent some more money at the KA boutique!

Good thing we only had two days in Vegas, or we'd be broke!

BOGOTA 21NOV10: Ella last appearance under the Quidam big-top: - happened yesterday, two shows.

Then today, for the final QUIDAM show under the big-top, Ella & Lauree were invited to put on white jumpsuits and monkey around on stage during circus animals. Everyone working on the show - coaches, physio, wardrobe, technicians, admin, cooks, guardians - went out onstage for the final bow.

It was a very emotional ending.

BOGOTA 19NOV10: Intersection vendors & cripples - These guys and gals, young and old, stroll up and down between the lanes of traffic selling everything from cigarette-lighter chargers to pop to roasted corn kernel snacks to slippers to flowers to toy rats... and then there are the cripples. In Canada, there are physically challenged individuals... but here in South America (for the most part), what you see are, with all due respect, pathetic cripples (imagine what you don't see!).

I recently saw a legless man scurrying between lanes of moving traffic. I was so shocked, it didn't even occur to me how he was getting around... on his hands? On a small cart? And I couldn't figure out his intentions... or how come he hadn't been run over already!

And on the street in front of our hotel, a middle-aged intersection beggar, with one leg of his trousers rolled up to display his twisted and withered bone of a leg... it looks like a baseball bat jammed into a running shoe. Every day he's out there, hobbling between lanes of traffic begging for change... and I have yet to see anyone give him any!

It is a wonder, too, how he survives.

BOGOTA 12NOV10: Something you don't see everyday... - and yet I saw it on two occasions yesterday:

A motorcycle cop racing through traffic... with another cop on the back of the scooter!

Strange!

BOGOTA 09NOV10: End of Big-Top party - It was a doozie, at Andre's, a club of the sort that I don't think even exists in Canada (well, maybe in Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver). Andre's is a multi-leveled complex with dark-themes and decadent decor - our bash was in Infierno (Hell), with bizarre Cirquesque characters lurking about, the Love Devil, Golliwogs, twin-dwarf mimes. And when the dj wasn't blasting out Latin tunes, there was a traditional samba-style band to shake things up - snare, bass drum, trumpet, trombone - tissue skulls & hearts rained down upon our drunken celebration throughout the party, and eventually the jam-packed dance floor was inches deep in the stuff! The evening was all about bottomless mojitos, tequila shots and letting loose!

And many of us let loose, with full-knowledge that we were celebrating (or mourning?) the end of a wonderful era... Tour General Manager Rob Mackenzie summed it up perfectly with a Lennonism - "The dream is over".

BOGOTA 09NOV10: Olga's Wedding - It was surprisingly charming; surprisingly, because although the date had been established for some time, very little seemed to have been being done in the way of preparation... as if it would all just happen on its own. However, charming it was, a wedding in the Big-Top, with all her friends, family and peers in attendance. Oh, and yes, it was Ferran's wedding too... a great guy with the patience of Job.

Actually, not a real wedding - getting the paperwork done seemed to have fallen through the cracks - but real in the way a renewal of vows is real. It was a public statement and celebration of their commitment to each other, and to their young son Alex... and it was light-hearted and whimsical. One of the techs, Luc "Father Lucien" Deslaurier, presided over the ceremony (who'd have guessed he was a Quebec parish-priest!), and the wedding vows included Ferran granting Olga full control of the tv remote, and Olga permitting Ferran to continue his traditional poker night with the boys.

It was definitely charming, though, and it all came off without a "hitch", thanks to the professionalism of the performers and the lighting & sound crew.

All that is left is the paperwork...

Although, "Father Lucien" tells me there is a fellow in town that will be happy to notarize the necessary paperwork... he will simply witness the marriage ceremony by watching the video. Problem is... the only video camera's battery died before they got to the "I now pronounce you" part!

BOGOTA 06NOV10: Climbing the big-top - It was on our must-do list before the end of the Big-Top Tour, and today it happened... Robert "Tita" kindly offered to take us up to the top of the Grand Chapiteau, as a family!

At first, things looked doubtful... it sprinkled rain all morning, but around 11h30, the sky appeared to be clearing, and Tita gave us the green light. With help from tent master Alex Sblattero, we were harnessed up in climbing gear and fitted with helmets (safety first!), and then, two at a time, and under the watchful eye of Tita, we went up the side of the tent by ladder, where we were hooked onto guide ropes to begin our ascent to the cupola.

The surface of the big-top was surprisingly unsteep, with an incline seemingly no more than walking from the center of a trampoline to the outside edge... it was also just as bouncy as a trampoline, so we hung onto the guide ropes for dear life (we didn't want to experience the embarrassment, let alone discomfort, of sliding down and over the side on our butts!). From the top, a great view of the artistic tent, and the amusement park next door... we had no intention of climbing around on the cupola once we were up, as the surface was prone to slips if we weren't careful.

After a few strategic photos, we began our descent, just as the sky began again to sprinkle. Tita brought Lauree and the girls down first, and the sprinkles turned to a light shower. The sloped surface of the big-top was becoming increasingly slippery. Thunder growled, and waiting atop by the cupola, I began to wonder if perhaps they might decide to leave me there until the weather cleared... too dangerous to send someone back up for me. Tita is a brave man, however, and wasn't to be put off by a little rain... up he came, and then slowly and with great care, we edged our way butt-first back down to the ladder. Strangely enough, going down, the big-top doesn't seem so unsteep!

What an amazing experience... a big thank you to Tita and Alex, and to Chris Brislin for helping to make it happen!

BOGOTA 31OCT10: The streets of Bogota - Pouring rain, a brawny middle-aged man pushing a large vegetable cart, shaking his head and wearing the biggest grin you can imagine... caught in the rain again!

On an overpass, a fellow hurries back down the side of the highway to pick up two large sacks of municipal grass clippings that have fallen off his cart... meanwhile, the horse pulling the cart is dumbly plodding onward, totally indifferent to the fact that there is no one at the lead.

BOGOTA 21OCT10: Plight of an intersection vendor - A fellow selling roses at an intersection, standing in the lane outside a driver's window, about to make a sale when the red light changes to green... the steady traffic moves ahead at a brisk pace, the fellow runs after his sale, the driver now a good three cars ahead of him. He finally catches up to the driver at the next red light, a full city block away... and the driver declines.

All that work running for nothing!

BOGOTA 20OCT10: BOGOTA Premiere - Last night was the last big-top premiere for Quidam. There was the usual excitment in the air, but also a slight pang of sadness, as many noted that the passing of an era had begun.

Strangely, there was no aftershow party... the promotor obviously did not appreciate the significance of this special night. Instead, on the immediately preceeding Sunday night, a public bar was opened to the tour but no minors were permitted to attend (hence our date night).

Ella was particularly disappointed, but you take what you can get.

BOGOTA 19OCT10: Private tour of Bogota - The good Doctor Carlos, a renowned orthopedic surgeon, kindly offered to show us around his Bogota (along with physio Gerald, Yoko & little Mio). A drive to a bird's eye view of the city, amongst huge shady (and imported) eucalyptus trees, a brief tour of the Museo Botero (wonderful stuff!), a walk through the main square... Dr Carlos is a wealth of information on the city's history and culture. He is also a warm and generous man, taking the time to chat with homeless people along the way, helping them out with some cash (and even a job offer to one English-speaking fellow!). A true philanthropist.

He brought us next to the Catedral de Sal in Zipaquirá (50 kms from Bogota), a working salt mine where minors have carved out Stations of the Cross at various intervals along the mine shafts (dangerous work!), and even a main cathedral where services continue to be held... 200 meters underground!

Last, but certainly not least, he brought us to his hometown of Chia, where we met his charming family, his wife Dr. Teresa, and sons Danny & Charlie. We lunched at the club (private golf club), enjoyed the engaging company of his family, and at the end of the day, we were driven back to our apartment in Bogota by his private driver.

It was a wonderful, enlightening day, one where our preconceived views of Bogota, and Colombia in general, were significantly altered for the better.

BOGOTA 17OCT10: Date night! - Lauree and I had a date night. T&L Brigitte & beau Craig told us of a really great pub, the Bogota Brewing Company (BBC), within walking distance of our hotel... so we made tentative arrangements to meet up with them after the show Sunday night. The front desk gave us directions and in about 20 minutes we arrived at quite a nice ale house. We ordered a couple of pints and got caught up on what's up between us.

A couple more pints and Lauree had the munchies. We ordered nachos, but they arrived stone cold... it took us about 20 minutes to get the attention of our waitress, but finally she came and took away our nachos for re-heating. About 10 minutes later, she came back to us to explain some problem with the nachos... "no caliente?" I suggested. She shrugged her shoulders and left us hanging.

Fifteen more minutes and still no nachos. We had long finished our second pints and by this time, Brigitte had called to say that they were at "the other BBC", so we decided to forget the nachos, just pay and leave. Then the nachos turned up again, still stone cold. No matter, let's get out of here!

Jumped in a taxi, gave him the address Brigitte gave us. We drove and drove... to a completely different neighbourhood, but soon enough, we arrived at "the other BBC".

Lauree asked the driver how much, he said 6,000 pesos ($3 CDN), Lauree responded in stoic disbelief, "nooo, 4,000 pesos". The driver showed her where it read 6,000 pesos on his official laminated billing chart. Lauree pointed out her amount of 4,000 pesos altogether elsewhere on the chart. The driver must have realized that he was dealing with a crazy lady... he eyed the 4,000 pesos Lauree thrust toward him, then buckled.

Out we hopped and entered the bar where Brigitte & beau Craig were nowhere to be found. We asked a waitress to verify the address we had... we were once again in the wrong location.

Back into another cab with directions from the waitress and phew, minutes later, we arrived at "the other other BBC", joining Brigitte & beau Craig and half a dozen others for another pint of BBC Roja. The crazy conversation ranged from the merits of Calvin temperature measurement to bitumen to Wargammer vs dungeons & dragons to the innocent but aggravating "hello" on lighting's channel 6 to the mighty Bear Clan of the Cherokee Nation to much more raunchy topics such as who's doing whom on tour. An interesting evening...

Did I mention we took someone else's reservations?

BOGOTA 12OCT10: First impressions - The security guard outside the grocery store across the street was scanning a lady's purse with a wand to detect firearms. The bank guard at the cash machine had some kind of semi-automatic rifle. There is a guard with a huge German Shepherd outside the gate of our apartment complex.

To be fair, however, we have seen a strong policing presence in almost every city we have visited in South America... armoured car guards at a Sao Paulo grocery store with revolvers drawn, police with machine guns in Recife, riot squad police on regular patrol in Santiago... it seems to be just the way it is.

Actually, Bogota is a beautiful city... it generally follows a common theme in its architecture, red/brown old & new brick buildings with modest and tasteful ornamentation, there are lots of parks and green space, large trees, very artistic graffiti,great shopping malls, lots of SUV's.

And the locals seem friendly enough... and a lot less harried than those in Lima (there's is a lot less horn-honking!).

OTTAWA 04OCT10: New digs! - Trip from Lima home to Ottawa was unexpectedly smooth... despite delayed take offs/landings and having to pick up & clear 11 bags (including a bicycle and two guitars) through US Customs, we made all our connections. Arrived in Ottawa 5 bags short, but that was good news too... it meant we didn't have to hire an extra taxi to get our stuff to our new house!

The new digs was a pleasant surprise - much more space than we imagined on the internet, and the kitchen renovations Lauree had hoped for were given a green light by our contractor... it will be a cozy jam spot once we are completely settled in!

We owe a big thanks to Derek & Lil, Fredericka and cousin Brain for doing the leg work for us on our long-distance purchase.

We saw family, and Tessa & Ella got to check out their new schools. Ella was given a warm welcome at Hopewell PS and met all her future schoolmates... and at Glebe Collegiate, Tessa was given the advice "arrive and survive" and a map of the school.

Something to look forward to in the new year.

LIMA 24SEP10: Things we miss about...

Brazil: the beaches, the bananas, the papaya, acai, caipiroskas, coconut water, Bohemia, Antarctica Guarana, the coffee, the mercados, the colours, the music... and the wild exhuberance of its people.

Argentina: Probably too early to say, but certainly beautiful Buenos Aires and its wonderful arrogance... and the beef!

Chile: Still too early to say... but maybe the carmenere wine, and Valparaiso was very special.

Peru: Definitely too early to say... we haven't even left yet! Machu Picchu? Inca Cola? Cusquena? Pisco Sours? That crazy Nazca monkey?

LIMA 24SEP10: 500th show! - Today, Ella is performing her 500th Quidam show.

We are so very proud of her.

LIMA 22SEP10: Crazy Cabbie! - Tessa, Ella and I had finished shopping in Lima's music store district (5 de Mayo/Alfonso Ugarte) where we picked up a cajon (peruvian box drum), and decided to check out the Inca Market, a huge artesan market and popular tourist destination. We hailed a cab, told the driver our destination, negotiated a fair price, got in and away we went. The driver, a young fellow, was friendly and determined... determined to drive us loco!

He called someone on his cell phone, asking the contact something about what sounded like "mercado cinca"... I corrected him: mercado INKA. He pulled out a tourist map, one that shows the location of the name hotels of the city, but not much street details, and began searching it for some clue of our destination. He started asking fellow motorists at stop lights if they knew how to get to "mercado cinca"... I corrected him again: No, mercado INKA!

He did not seem to know at all where he was going, and after about 15 minutes of driving I realized that we were just half a block from our hotel... I pointed to it, and said to the cabbie: "Nuevo destinacion, Hotel Sheraton."

"Hotel Sheraton?" the driver responded.

"Si, Hotel Sheraton... okay?" Again I pointed to the hotel.

"Okay!"

The cabbie then pulled onto the freeway, in the oppostie direction of the hotel... after a few exits, traffic slowed to a crawl, and he was back asking other drivers, policemen, and street vendors for directions to mercado cinca. We then passed the spot where he had picked us up 20 minutes earlier.

I took his tourist map, and luckily found the location of the Inka Market on a street identified with the caption "mercado artesanales"... I pointed it out to the driver.

"Mercado artesanales?" he asked.

"Si, mercado artesanales"

We drove around for another 5 minutes... he referred back to his cell contact, and once again started asking other drivers for directions whenever traffic slowed to a crawl.

"Okay, por favor, Hotel Sheraton... vamonos Hotel Sheraton" I requested.

"Hotel Sheraton?"

"Si, Hotel Sheraton, por favor... and Lord help us!"

The cabbie took the next exit off the freeway, but instead of getting on again in the direction back toward the hotel, he started driving aimlessly around on side streets... it was like something out of The Twilight Zone!

"Okay, aqui esta bien! Pare aqui!" I demanded. He had barely pulled over and we were already scrambling out. He reached desperately for a fare, I gave him 5 solas, he pleaded for 10...

I told him as succinctly as I could: "Forget it!"

LIMA 21SEP10: Starbucks! - There is a Starbucks in the mall adjoining our hotel here in Lima... it is very popular with the Quidam community, ourselves included.

The other day, Tessa ordered an iced beverage, the Tazo® Shaken Iced Passion Tea Lemonade, to be exact.

The girl behind the counter asked Tessa: "Would you like it cold?"

???

LIMA 18SEP10: Something about Lima culture - The drivers here are extremely impatient, incessantly honking their car horns, when stopped in traffic congestion, at each other when cutting in and out of lanes, and even when waiting at red lights to hurry the light to change. Add to that the taxi drivers honking to attract potential clients walking on the sidewalk, and you get the Lima Caucophony Orchestra.

Another interesting observation... the locals at restaurants sit beside each other rather than across from each other... couples, friends, even male buds... all sit on the same side of the table facing empty chairs.

LIMA 13SEP10: Tessa's "Sweet Sixteen" - Tessa celebrated her 16th birthday yesterday, rather quietly, but was lucky enough to get face to face birthday wishes from visitors from home, Lauree's running buddies Elaine, Hetty and Lil! Among the few but very special presents she received was a silver Inca bracelet that Elaine, Hetty & Lil picked up for her on the "running buddy road trip" to Machu Picchu, white gold earings from Grandma Foran, and a pair of converse runners autographed by Quidam artists, techs and staff (how kind and thoughtful Rob McKenzie). And the chocolate birthday cake prepared by the Quidam kitchen was to die for!

We have had the pleasure of spending some time with guests from home this city - first with cousin Sharon, with whom we shared our first experiences of Lima together... pisco sours, ceviche, the St Francis catacombs, Larcomar (too bad we couldn't have co-ordinated Machu Picchu better), and then with Elaine, Hetty and Lil, known collectively as "our crazy friends from Canada"... Lil showed just how crazy by going up on stage and hamming it up as the femme fatale in the Quidam act "Clown Cinema".

It was great seeing you all!

LIMA 25AUG10: Machu Picchu in a nut shell - Up at 5:45 a.m. to catch a flight to Cusco. Our taxi driver had to pull his bucket of bolts over for gas on the way to the airport. Arrived in Cusco around noon and immediately headed off to the famous mercado in Pisaq, amazing with short Peruvian woman in colourful shawls, fedoras and long black braids... Snacked on giant kernel cobs of local corn with soft cheese served in it's own husk, chewed coca leaves for our health and well-being, but drew the line when it came to eating kuy (guinea pig), roasted in clay ovens, alongside potatoes and freshly-baked corn bread (which we did try).

Tessa and Ella enjoyed petting a baby alpaca (like a llama)... It bit Tessa on the back of her hand (nasty little bugger!).

Spent the evening roaming the streets of Cusco, which was the central city of the Inca empire, decimated when the Spaniards took over in the 15th century. Then it was early to bed.

Next morning, up at 5:45 a.m. to catch a train to Aguas Calientes. The four hour train ride was picturesque, winding through the Andes, alongside trickling stream beds, and around (or through) towering mountains... great rugged terrain.

There is not much to Aguas Calientes, just a fairly decent mercado, unhygienic hot springs, a curious-looking hairless dog and dozens of restaurants and hostels to accommodate the tens of thousands of tourists who arrive every year... anyone visiting Machu Picchu must stop off here first. We wandered around, then had a great dinner at The Tree House restaurant, where we enjoyed an alpaca steak which resembled pork (Tessa had the last laugh). Then it was early to bed.

Up at 3:45 a.m. to catch a bus up to Machu Picchu... only 400 visitors each day are permitted to climb Wayna Picchu for a spectacular bird's-eye view of Machu Picchu, so we wanted to be among the first to arrive.

Machu Picchu is awe-inspiring, a complete Inca town (although only 30% has been unearthed), preserved in time on this remote mountain top... it is practically liveable.

We accomplished the rigorous climb to the top of Wayna Picchu but made a slight error in judgement, when, half way back down Wayna Picchu, we took a detour to visit the Moon Temple on the far side of the mountain which added close to three hours to our climb. By the time we made it back to Machu Picchu, I was hobbling around like an old man, my knees having given out... how embarrassing.

We wish we could have spent more time exploring the nooks and crannies of Machu Picchu, it is a wonderful, magical place.

SANTIAGO 04AUG10: Road trip to Valparaiso - So we went on our first solo road trip since Tuscany... to Valparaiso on the coast of Chile, only 100 kms from Santiago. Driving there was easy, even without GPS or a proper map, because it was one well-marked highway all the way there, Ruta 68, through picturesque coastal mountains and into flat wine country.

We stopped at one of the vineyards "in the book", Casas del Bosque... Lauree was thrilled. She has longed (as only a wine-lover can!) to see grapes on the vine... we were out of season in Tuscany, and also during a couple of our winery tours in Brazil. There were still no grapes on the vine at Casas del Bosque (it's Winter here), but a very informative guide gave us an excellent, informative private tour and over-endulged us at the sampling table. We had absolutely no complaints!

Valparaiso was special. It has been a major South American port for hundreds of years, (pirate Sir Francis Drake used to hang out here)... the Panama Canal put an end to its glory days, but it is still a very busy shipping port. It is amazing, though, how a place so full of stray dogs, dog crap, garbage in the streets, and crumbling infrastructure can be so charming! We loved climbing the hilly cobble-stoned streets, past the century-old buildings with their bright-coloured corregated steel siding (stripped from shipping containers)... only century-old buildings because the area is earth-quake-prone, and the town was wiped out at the turn of the century. Even the recent quake in Conception, a few hundred miles away has left its mark on several buildings.

Our accommodations were excellent... a hostel called Luna Sonrisa, owned and operated by a Brit ex-pat travel writer and his artist wife, located right in the heart of the town. Everything of interest was walking distance. We hiked around, did a tour of the port on a private boat, saw sea lions basking in the sun, Chilean Naval warships and a submarine (no fotos!), visited the cemetery, appreciated art, enjoyed helados, window-shopped in the funky boutiques, made a side trip to nearby Viña del Mar to see the Easter Island figure there (and the Rodin sculpture "El defensa", tried to watch the sunset from sand dunes some 30 kms north of the city (we didn't make it in time!)...

We loved Valparaiso... great cafes, shops, and an Irish Pub (El Irlandes) to boot, where we played as guests of our Santiago friends on our second evening there. This was immediately following a short set performed at Barlovento in Viña del Mar. We played some tunes, made some new friends, drank a few pints... had a great time.

The only sour note of our trip... during the session in Valparaiso, Ella left her window down a crack to air out our rental car, and while we were having a great time playing music, someone made off with Ella's new winter coat from Buenos Aires, her new scarf from Santiago, and my well-used "Giver" ballcap from the Pakenham contest. Can you believe it!!!

Fortunately, in all our time on tour, this has been our only encounter with crime... we've been lucky.

SANTIAGO 27JUL10: About Santiago - Santiago is a nice enough city (Tessa surprisingly prefers it to Buenos Aires), not too large and with not much of a colonial feel... looks like a city in Canada.

We have been out and about a few times, and the city offers well-maintained sidewalks and paths for pedestrians, winding through parks and throughout the city. And it feels safe... we are not hesitant to walk around during the evening, or to explore tiny shops tucked away in alley ways. We have seen some of the sights, the Catedral Metropolitana de Santiago, Castillo Hidalgo on Cerro Santa Maria, various mercados... and enjoyed several restaurants.

Just around the corner from our apartment is Calle Providencia, a happening street busy with everyday people carrying out their everyday lives - workers, shoppers, students, sidewalk vendors, buskers, beggars and stray dogs- a great place to observe "The Big Parade".

Some of the sidewalk vendors are legitimate, selling newspapers, flowers or fruit from carts or licensed kiosks. Most, however, are local entrepreneurs selling from a sheet or piece of fabric placed directly on the sidewalk to display their wares, everything from scarves and mitts to cosmetics to electronics accessories to watches to cutlery to long-johns to jewellery to cd/dvd's to watches to wallets to whatever else I can't think of.

And interspersed with the vendors are the beggars, who are out in force every day - the singing blindman, the wheelchair man, the old toothless trumpeter, the cripple displaying his bared meaty stump of a foot, the Downs-Syndrome child in his stroller, the legless man just lying there, face-down on the sidewalk - others just stand incessantly tapping a coin on the side of a cup. All the while, the multitude rushes by, men, women and children on their way to work, to eat or to shop, oblivious for the most part to the tragic lives pestering them for small change.

It would seem that every city we have visited has a stray dog problem. These strays typically appear happy and carefree, like Disney's Tramp, going about their business with big smiles and wagging tails, having the time of their lives. The typical Santiago stray is a sad-looking thing, however, alone in the world, walking along wearily or curled up in a doorway or alley. They seem to carry the weight of the world upon their shoulders... hungry, unloved and unwanted. Tessa suggests that maybe it is the time of year, Winter, that has them so down in the mouth.

Whatever it is, it is all part of The Big Parade...

SANTIAGO 20JUL10: Tessa has a bad day! - The day started going sour at the mall, getting her hair cut. The fellow who washed her hair was unnecessarily rough... and the "cutter" thought Tessa only wanted a styling after the wash. When Tessa explained that she needed a cut, the cutter started snipping away without even asking how Tessa wanted it. Whenever Tessa would begin to protest, the cutter would put her hands in the air, like "what?!!!", so she sat teary-eyed in reluctant submission, leaving the fate of her hair in the hands of the cutter. Tessa survived the cut, but didn't even get a comb-through or blow dry... she left the salon clawing clumps of damp hair cuttings from her scalp.

Then the evening, for what should have been a stress-free Irish Session at Flannery's. Tessa arrived at the pub and discovered her violin case was empty... her violin was still on its stand back at the apartment! Hurrying alone the twenty minutes back to the apartment to get her violin... she somehow made a wrong turn and got lost! After ten minutes of tearful wandering the streets, she recognized a street name and found her way to the apartment, grabbed her violin and raced back to Flannery's.

She was so flustered, she didn't even feel like having her usual Coca Cola fix during the session... crazy kid!

SANTIAGO 13JUL10: An unexpected show-stopper! - Saturday night, Santiago dress rehearsal. Backstage waiting to go on, Ella has unusually severe butterflies in her stomach... she dismisses them as nervous pre-performance jitters. The crowd cheers madly as the lights go down, then hushes as Zoe Ella flicks on the red light on the stage. She sings her opening notes, then jerks her head strangely to one side. Jamieson, the male singer, thinks perhaps she has breathed in a fly or something. Ella continues on, however, singing the next acapella line, and then, mysteriously and uncharacteristically, squats down quickly on the floor.

"The singer is... down!" exclaims bandleader Jim over the monitor headset; "I think she might be sick."

"Uhhh, yeah," replies Jamieson. "She's puking!"

Lauree, who has been watching the opening on a monitor in the technician tent, is dashing across site toward the artistic tent, shrieking "Oh my God, she's puking, she's puking on stage!"

Meanwhile, there is poor Ella, alone in the spotlight at centerstage, crouched over and wretching, like a cat coughing up a furball. No one knows what to do... the stage directors and technicians cannot believe their eyes, the band stops playing, the distracted Zoe parents, still in character and sitting in their chairs on stage, are discreetly peering over their shoulders wondering what the heck is going on, and the audience is thinking maybe it's all part of the show. Finally, after what seems an eternity, but what was in reality only 15 or so uncomfortable seconds, Artistic Director Sean (Chivalrous Sean, we should now call him), rushes onstage to Ella's aide, helping her to her feet and escorting her offstage, while the audience applauds in sympathetic respect for the "fallen" artist.

To Ella, the whole thing seems surreal, like a bad dream. Tour "Medic" Gerald is checking her over, I'm assuring everyone, "She's okay, she's okay", and backstage is buzzing as Plan B is put into action. Another artist, one of the Zoe's Girls, kindly volunteers to fill in for Ella as the show re-starts with pre-recorded vocals... it isn't perfect, but it gets the show back on track. Ella quickly recovers herself, however, and returns to the stage by the third act, finishing the show without any further gastric repercussions.

Phew!

Tonight is the Santiago premiere, which has begun without any hitches, hiccups or hurls... which is good, because important guests in the audience include the President of Chile.

SANTIAGO 02JUL10: Skiing in the Andes - This is Lauree's third day out hitting the slopes at Valle Nevado, 50 kms and 2 hours drive outside of Santiago. She is skiing with a small group from Cirque, Canadians & Americans mostly, and the odd Brit (that would be Neil!)... Tessa also went along on the first day, and loved it (too bad she has school work to keep on top of).

Skiing Valle Nevado has been a unique experience for Lauree - there are few other skiers around, as it is the beginning of the season (and mid-week), and there are absolutely no trees! So although there are groomed areas, you can basically ski the whole surface of the mountain (if you don't mind going over a cliff now and then!). There is also no such thing as a "bunny hill" there... all the runs are incredibly steep! She has also lucked out with the weather... it has been sunny and warm, like spring skiing at its best. She and Tessa were drenched in sweat after their first run - thank goodness for layers!

Getting to the resort at the top of Valle Nevado is treacherous, but getting back down on those steep narrow roads is considerably more unnerving! The hairpin turns are so extreme that the shuttle van driver has to stop, turn the wheels, then proceed carefully around the turn! Good thing everyone is so exhausted after their day of skiing... they have an excuse for keeping their eyes tightly closed!

BUENOS AIRES 25JUN10: Iguazu Falls - Going to Iguazu Falls had long been on our South America "must do" list - Louise and Benoit made the trip when they visited us in Rio and said it was amazing - but there always seemed to be something else more locally to do. It was our last weekend in Argentina, however, and time was running out, so off to Iguazu we went, a little more than an hour by plane.

Iquazu Falls is a spectacular natural formation on the Brazilian/Argentine border (Paraguay is just a stones throw away as well), created eons ago when the mighty Iguazu River experienced a massive earthquake. It has 275 separate falls over a couple of levels, and is the fifth highest waterfall in the world... upon seeing Iguazu, Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Poor Niagara!" (wikipedia). We spent two days viewing the falls from different perspectives.

Our first day was spent on the Brazilian side, where the falls are called Cataratas do Iguaçu. A tour bus brought us to the hiking trails which wound through the sub-tropical rain forest to various viewing platforms where the falls could be marveled at. It was sprinkling rain, but not too cold (even considering the South American winter), and a pleasant enough trek. No photo we could take could capture the scale of the falls, but we took plenty anyway. Our day lasted until we got soaked to the skin on a walkway under one section of the falls. We stayed long enough for one last Antarctica Guarana (for Tessa & I) and an acai & banana (for Lauree, of course) before heading back to our weekend lodgings on the Argentina side.

Day two was spent viewing the falls from the Argentine side, where they are called Cataratas del Iguazú. Our day started early... we did the "jungle tour" with a dozen others, sitting on rows of seats mounted on the flatbed of a truck, then hit the water in motorized rubber rafts. The drivers took great delight in soaking their passengers with head-on rushes up to the raging shower of falls, but we had been forewarned - we purchased and wore cheap plastic panchos, took off shoes & socks and rolled up our pants - others weren't so prepared! All in all, the raft experience was worthwhile, the jungle tour less so... the choking motor, bump and rattle of the flatbed truck and the babble of the guide talking through the loudspeaker frightened away any of the featured wildlife that might have been spotted.

Not to say we didn't get our fair share of wildlife through the day... countless species of birds (including a toucan!), tiny butterflies in every colour imaginable, as numerous as confetti, and several colonies of raccoon-like mammals called coatis. The coatis seemed quite used to people, wandering along the footpaths, scavenging for food... there were signs all over warning not to feed them. We witnessed one interacting with a Japanese tourist sitting on a stone ledge... the coati crept cautiously along the ledge toward the unsuspecting tourist, feigned indifference, then aggressively lunged head-first into the man's knapsack, making off with a bag of potato chips!

Last, but certainly not least in our Iquazu Falls experience, was a short train-ride and a kilometre walk on catwalks stretching across the Iguazu River to directly over the falls of The Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo). It was very impressive, and a little nerve-wracking, the roar of the falls, visibility nil as you peered down the throat... and along the final stretch of catwalk were the ruins of another once-sturdy catwalk destroyed by flooding in 1992!

We were everyone of us happy we were finally able to see the falls... they were really quite something.

BUENOS AIRES 14JUN10: Back-seat Driver! - We were in a taxi heading back to our hotel, tired out after an afternoon of shopping. From the backseat, Lauree recognized our route, and thought the driver might miss a necessary turn: "Turn here," she told him, "Aqui, aqui!"

The driver mumbled something in Spanish, and added "No, no, no..."

"Si! Si! Si!" emphasized Lauree, wondering why he was being so difficult. It was then that Tessa pointed out that the driver was talking to someone on his cell phone, totally unaware that Lauree was engaged in a discussion with him.

And he made the necessary turn, even without her help!

BUENOS AIRES 12JUN10: Getting there is half the fun... - On Monday we set out for the town of Tigre, (named after the jaguar "tigers" that heavily populated the delta there before they were hunted to extinction), a mere fifty minutes by commuter train from Buenos Aires. It is a port town, once a major hub for fruit, and now a popular tourist destination, with arts and craft markets, dozens of rowing clubs, museums, an amusement park and a casino.

We left Buenos Aires from the grand "Retiro" train station before noon, on a rather ricketty train, enjoying the scenery between and during stops, the "favelas", the graffiti, even admiring some once-spendid homes in the communities along the way. Approximately two-thirds into the trip, the train pulled into a junction called Victoria, an announcement in Spanish was made, and nearly everyone got up and got off the train. The few who remained, including ourselves, looked around scratching our heads in bewilderment, wondering what the heck was going on. We finally got off the train as well, figured out from people talking to a rail employee that the train would not be completing the trip to Tigre, and then trudged into the town following the mass of others, trusting that someone knew what the plan was.

Several blocks into town later, we arrived at a main street of sorts, where people were piling on a local bus headed for Tigre. We too boarded the standing-room-only bus, paid another fare, and took our chances that we would, in fact, arrive in Tigre... and thankfully, 20 minutes or so later, we did.

Tigre itself was a nice enough place, magnificant boat-club mansions (with dolly-scale tracks laid to get the wooden rowing craft to the water), lots of craft markets, restaurants, all pretty-much geared for the tourist trade.

A shame they had to get rid of the jaguars though...

BUENOS AIRES 10JUN10: Sticky Dog Crap - Professional Dog Walking seems to be a big thing here... several times a day we see someone with a dozen-or-so surprisingly well-behaved leashed dogs. The amateurs don't bother with a leash... and there doesn't seem to be a "poop & scoop" policy in force either. You really have to watch your step!

Last evening, Tessa, Ella and I were out walking to get a bite to eat, and Tessa explained to me that she had just seen what she thought in the dimming light to be a short stick, and she kicked at it, but it was soft, and it kind of curled under, and it was not a stick...

"So did you get dog crap on the bottom of your shoe?"

"No," Tessa replied, "On the bottom of Mom's shoe"

BUENOS AIRES 08JUN10: Buenos Aires Irish Session - Mariana, a new friend with a passion for the Emerald Isle had tried, but was unable to arrange a session for us to attend here in Buenos Aires. However, a buddy who works on tour with us, Manchester Craig, managed to plant the seed of an idea for a session at a pub he had come across called Molly Malone's. It took me a few days to get a commitment from the pub's Argentine owners (I don't think they quite knew what an Irish Session was all about), but eventually they consented, and last night, the session was held to great success.

I had told the owners we would number at least four, but possible as many as eight. I was shocked (but in a pleased sort of way) when person after person came into the pub with an instrument in hand. We eventually numbered around 20 in number: 6 fiddlers, 4 guitarist, 2 mandolins, 1 each for accordian, flute, whistle and pipes, plus a charming lass singer and half a dozen Irish dancers... one fellow even had a charango, an Andean lute instrument, with a real armadillo shell as the back. By the time all had arrived, the session participants took up half of the pub!

But what a session it was... everything Irish, plus Canadian Old-Time & new, Brazilian and Argentine tunes! And we got to debut the most recent song in our repertoire, Libertango by Astor Piazzolla!

Another one for our album of memorable sessions!

BUENOS AIRES 01JUN10: A fun day in Uruguay - We spent yesterday in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, only an hour by ferry across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires, with a bunch of Cirque friends (James & Laurel, Menno, Wiki, Neil, Mandy, Brian, Danielle & JP). We arrived early, rented scooters, planned our day over coffee, then buzzed around the historical centre of town and the surrounding countryside on our scooters... it was a blast! The town had interesting ruins of a battlement, and it was cool watching a flock of small green parrots flitting from tree to tree.

The story of the day: I let Tessa try out the scooter on her own, on a quiet stretch of road in the old part of town... she putted along carefully, doing a couple of small loops. Naturally, Ella asked if she too could try at some point of the day. No problem.

We were then in the country, stopped in a group to discuss directions... there was a little dirt road nearby, so I let Ella try her hand at the scooter. She putted up the gradual hill of the dirt road for approx 50 yards, stopped, turned herself around... and then came bombing full-throttle back down the dirt road toward us. She was riding like a lunatic, and we were all yelling for her to slow down! We watched, panic-stricken, as she raced right by us without any sign of slowing down, bee-lining it straight into an intersection, over the grassy median, across the other side of the road, up onto the grassy shoulder on the far side of the road... it was like she had a death wish! She finally and suddenly ground to a halt, seconds before slamming into a wire fence! We ran to her in shock, thinking she had absolutely lost her mind!

"What the heck were you doing?!!!"

Ella was acting a little sheepish, and not fully understanding how dangerous the situation had been. With some embarrassment, she explained that her toque and helmet slipped forward down over her eyes, and she couldn't see what she was doing or where she was going... so she just held on for dear life, driving totally blind!

Ella Kneivel rides again!

BUENOS AIRES 28MAY10: Tessa hablar Espanol - We have already been to several top-notch meat restaurants here in Buenos Aires (the Argentinian beef!), although we've been to a couple of good pasta places as well, including the late composer Astor Piazzolla's favorite, La Cantina Pierino... the pasta, hand-rolled by an old guy sitting in the corner, was amazing! Anyway, we happened to be at an "in the book" meat restaurant, Cabana Las Lilas, and we had ordered a side of fries with our steaks, but there was no ketchup on the table.

Tessa has been taking Spanish lessons on our travels, here and there, whenever she can, and we figured this would be a good opportunity for Tessa to demonstrate what she has learned by asking the waiter to please bring us some Ketchup. She said she'd give it a try...

We beckoned the waiter over, Tessa looked up at him and spoke in her best Spanish: "Ketchup?"

BUENOS AIRES 26MAY10: Sharp Dressed Man - Tessa was all excited a couple of days ago, asking if ZZ Top was in town... she saw a fellow with the unmistakable long beard and sunglasses in our hotel lobby. We asked one of the porters, and sure enough, ZZ Top is staying at our hotel.

Since that time, the members of the band, a fragile-looking Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, have been a familiar sight in the main lobby, breakfast area and lobby bar... especially Dusty, who seems to be a very open and sociable person. He complimented a Fender Telecaster he was autographing for Andre, Quidam's IT guy, and someone joked that it is too bad Andre doesn't know how to play it!

Dusty replied, "That's not a problem... I've been faking it for years!"

The girls and I are going to Luna Park to see them perform tonight (We went and they were great!).

BUENOS AIRES 23MAY10: All You Need Is Love - Ella and I got on the subject of National Anthems - "Oh Canada", "The Star-Spangled Banner", "God Save The Queen" - and when I sang the opening to France's "La Marseillaise", Ella was astounded.

"Do you mean to tell me that school children in France sing a Beatle song every morning?!!!"

BUENOS AIRES 21MAY10: We have arrived! - Everyone has been saying that Buenos Aires would be the jewel of our South American tour... and they are right! What an amazing place... it is the New York City of South America, with a Paris flavour. We have been out exploring the city since arriving three days ago... the funky boutiques of San Telmo, the mega-shopping opportunities of the Florida Street pedestrian mall, the Cemetery in Ricoleta, the restaurants of Puerto Madero, the artisans of La Boca.

La Boca is charming... but evidently a dangerous place if you stray off the beaten path. While wandering the back streets looking for hidden sights of interest, several shop-keepers and concerned locals approached us with directions OUT of their neighbourhood!

And there are so many great restaurants, most with a history, all inexpensive and the food is fantastic... especially the ridiculously-generous slabs of Argentinian beef!

Last night we went to the theatre district to enjoy a performance of Disney's Beauty And The Beast... in Spanish! We all agreed it was one of the most entertaining shows we have seen! Next week we have been invited to spend a night at the opera, Madame Butterfly... should be good!

Ah, Buenos Aires!

PORTO ALEGRE 13MAY10: About Porto Alegre - Porto Alegre is a nice enough city, not too sprawling, and with all the comforts of home... if Sao Paulo is Toronto, Porto Alegre is Ottawa. It has its share of century-old buldings hidden between more modern structures and malls, a superb mercado, and there are plenty of municipal parks. The many poor are very evident, especially in the parks where some have taken up shelter.

The premiere came and went, along with the nice sunny weather... autumn catches up with us wherever we go,with its rain, wind and chilly temperatures. We have occupied our time sparingly... attended a Farewell Brazil Bash at a huge rock club called Opinioas, caught a couple of movies (Avatar, Iron Man 2)went on an organized vineyard tour in the Bento Gonçalves region (approx 2 horas from PA), and Tessa & Ella attended a Disney On Ice, courtesy of little Dima & Monika. Lauree left us for a few days to scout out accommodations in Santiago and Lima... and that is about it!

I consider the highlight of my time here in PA was drinking a Guarana from a glass pop bottle (yum!).

PORTO ALEGRE 21APR10: Linguistic Curiosities - Porto Alegre is the first place we have been to where speaking English attracts curious attention from the locals (rather than indifference or contempt- Shanghai!). It has happened on several occasions over the past week... we speak, and then there is giggling, whispering, finger pointing, even people coming over to us to practice speaking what few words they know in English. It is all in good fun, nothing annoying or intimidating... but it is a little strange!

DON'T YOU JUST HATE IT WHEN... you are in a taxi, the meter is running, and the driver keeps pulling over to ask for directions!

SAO PAULO 11APR10: Blues-breakers - Sao Paulo is a huge modern city, with all the comforts of home (think Toronto), but we found ourselves in some sort of winter hibernation mode - we had no real interest to go out and explore the city outside of the ten-block radius around our apartment. Our big city blues finally broke in April, however, when cousin Jayne & Krish came to visit us from Canada.

We day-tripped to colonial town Embue des Arts, watched Sao Paulo Foteball Club cream Botafogo in the rain, endulged in churrascaria at Fogo de Chou, explored what there was of Sao Paulo's charming Centro Historico, and enjoyed several nice evenings of pizza and chopp together with our guests from home.

SAO PAULO 16MAR10: Ella's Birthday Weekend - This past double-dark weekend, we celebrated Ella's 13th birthday quietly, as guests of Dr. Cohen at his beach house, located on a nature reserve just outside of Guaruja, approximately 75 kms from Sao Paulo. We were in good company - Suzanne (teacher), "Sideshow" Rob (tech), Danielle (physio), Gerald (physio) and his wife Yoko & baby Mio - but Dr. Cohen was absent... he was kind enough, however, to set us up with his beach house staff, a young husband and wife, who took care of our every need. It was strange being there on our own, without our generous host. Tessa likened the situation to Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None", and we were nervously waiting for someone to keel over during our first round of drinks.

The beach house is a fabulous split level, an ideal party house, with an upscale '70's decor. None of us had much need to check out the professionally-equipped kitchen on the main entrance level... the beach house staff prepared all the meals and did the cleaning up. On the upper level are five large guest rooms with extremely comfortable beds, wall-length closets, and each with a three-piece bathroom (glassed-in shower)... wooden double-doors lead out to a common terrace at the back of the house, overlooking the pool, beach and sea. The lower level is huge and open, with a dining area (12' table) at one end and at the other, a living room area with several couches, white upholstered swivel chairs and a big screen TV with surround sound. Down a few steps from the lower level is an area with a wine rack and beer fridge. Here is also the sauna, with a change area, a wood-paneled double shower stall and yet another bathroom. Back on the lower level, the outer walls were floor-to-ceiling glass, with doors leading out to a large veranda the width of the house, large enough for several wooden lounging chairs and a couple of wooden patio table-and-chair sets. To the side of the veranda is a sheltered area with a picnic table, bar and a brick wood-burning pizza oven. Stepping off the veranda leads you to the swimming pool and wooden deck, with more wooden lounging chairs and canvas sun umbrellas. A separate deck for the hot tub sits at one end of the pool deck. Then a level stretch of lawn to a stone bearing wall, with steps leading down to the beach.

Needless to say, spending only two days there, none of us wanted to leave... it is a lifestyle we could all get accustomed to very easily!

Thank you good Dr. Cohen.

SAO PAULO 02MAR10: Sao Paulo Update - we have been in Sao Paulo for a couple of weeks now, and it is cool here... sweater and jeans weather!

We have already had a great music session with some local musicians, celtic-bluegrass... well, anything goes, actually. We will get together again on March 13th (actually, we didn't). And then St Paddy's Day... we'll do something for sure (actually, we didn't!)

Tonight, Ella is doing her 13th consecutive show here in SP... the other singer has been having throat problems. Good job Ella.

And also tonight, Lauree has gone to see Coldplay... we won a free ticket to see them, and also to see Guns And Roses next week, but I suspect Lauree bartered that ticket off! (actually, she did!)

And last but not least, congratulations Canada on your Olympic successes!

RIO DE JANEIRO 07FEB10: Rocinha Favela Tour - We went on a tour of the Rocinha favela, the largest in Rio... apparently it was featured in the film "City Of God". Most tourists stay out of favelas... they are typically where the poor live, large families living in shelters built on top of each other in a maze of alley ways. And most favelas are ruled by drug gangs... the police stay out!

It was an interesting tour, one worth taking.

Someone was up to her old tricks, however. We were walking down an alley way, and Lauree took out her camera and began readying it. There was a group of local-types hanging out on the corner, and our tour guide anxiously told Lauree to put her camera away...

"Don't take any photos... they are drug dealers!"

RIO DE JANEIRO 06FEB10: Lauree flies - Today, Lauree finally got her chance to go hang gliding! Tessa couldn't go... unfortunately, she was too young. Lauree wore a harness strapped alongside the hang-glider "pilot", and then, a one-two-three-go, and they ran in step with each other, three-legged race style, right off the cliff. The trick was not to jump, but instead, run straight out into mid-air, like Wile E Coyote.

Lauree says it was amazing. She was surprised how little wind she felt, although once in a while, they would hit a pocket of turbulence and quickly drop several feet. Noentheless, they managed to soar and circle for a full 30 minutes, before landing gracefully (on their feet) on the beach.

And temperatures hit 40C today...

RIO DE JANEIRO 04FEB10: Brazilian Soccer - Candace and Mark treated us to a soccer game (thank you so much!) at Rio's famous Maracana Stadium, which can accommodate more than 100,000 spectators... the place is huge! The match we attended was between home team Flamengo and visitors Olaria.

Out-of-towners Olaria are from a lower division than Flamengo, so local fans didn't bother coming out, only around 5,000, who sat across the stadium, completely separate and apart, from the only 50-or-so Olaria fans who were able to follow their team to Rio. Both groups were equally boisterous, recognizable by their respective team jerseys, waving flags and banners, and each side with their own rhythm section, banging drums BAM! BOOM! BAM! BOOM! and blowing snarkblatts non-stop throughout the game, which managed to keep fans in a constant state of frenzy. Flamengo had a small horn section too, blaring out "When the Saints Go Marching In" whenever Flamengo did something clever. Olaria gave Flamengo a run-for-their money, however... and Rio fans were not shy to express their frustration, yelling, gesturing, waving arms in the air whenever their players screwed up, or if a ref was blind to an obvious infraction by Olaria... it was very amusing to watch! In the end, it was a 3-3 tie, which delighted the Olaria fans and disgusted the Flamengo fans.

Maracana Stadium

RIO DE JANEIRO 02FEB10: Santa Teresa - Santa Teresa is a once-luxurious neighbourhood of Rio, situated on a mountain, and with many stately mansions and a few streets interesting for their boutiques and restaurants.

We went first with Benoit & Louise, exploring the nighbourhood on a trolley car that tourists like to ride, although it still serves as public transportation for the Santa Teresa community... and what a bargain at 60. cents one end of the route to the other. We got off the trolley car at one point, checked out the ground of a ruined belle-epoque mansion that the city has turned into a park, then wandered the back-alleys down the mountain, past the Santa Teresa Convento and ending up in familiar territory at the Lapa Irish Pub.

We next went with the girls and Cousin Brian's sister Candace and her husband Mark, in Rio on a week's vacation. We took the trolley, checked out the boutiques, had a drink at a nice-enough bistro... and then jumped on the trolley to travel to the top and then head back down the mountain. That's when trouble began...

Mark gave the trolley conductor 20 Reais to cover the 3.60 it should have cost the six us, but the conductor only gave him back 2 reais change. I called the conductor back to point out the obvious error, the conductor (who looked like a Brazilian Richard Pryor) explained in Portugueses that it was for both ways (that should have cost 7.20), I said no way, and the conductor shrugged and gave Mark 4 more reais.

Then to add insult to injury, when the trolley reached the top end of the trip, the conductor came around again to collect, this time from me, and also from Lauree, who was sitting a few seats back. I handed over another 3.60 (which didn't seem enough to please the conductor) and told him in English, that we would complain to the authorities back at the terminus.

When we got back down to the terminus at the bottom of the mountain, Lauree sprung into action, (bringing to mind her Shanghai Fabric Market days!)... she went to a officious-looking person, one who seemed to be in charge, told him we were overcharged and demanded 10 reais back, pointing at our conductor and accosting him in a very loud voice "BANDITO!". The conductor sheepishly tried to explain his side of the story to the official, didn't seem to impress him much, tried handing Lauree a couple of 2's for her trouble... but Lauree kept demanding "10 REAIS, BANDITO!"

needless to say, we got our 10 reais, and beat it out of there!

We made one more trip back to Santa Teresa (actually two, but that's another story), to a fabulous jungle restaurant, no walls, built off of the side of a cliff amidst huge trees, and with a spectacular view of the city... we were seated in the "tree-house", and it was a tree house. The food excellent, the staff marvelous... we want to go back again for our last night out in Rio, and bring our camera with us!

But that isn't going to happen, as it turns out... but, I tell you, it is almost worth flying down to Rio just to go to this restaurant (the chocolate Petit Gateau was to die for!).

RIO DE JANEIRO 31JAN10: Samba Schools - We had been lucky enough to watch the local neighbourhod Samba School rehearsing for a couple of times now... rehearsing for Carnival!

The Samba Schools seem to involve the whole neighbourhood, in this case, the favela known as Rocinha... last week they rehearsed out on the street in front of our hotel. Drummers on an assortment of drums, tambourine sized to huge 24" side drums, each one playing a simple rhythm, often with a single stick... but when everyone is playing, a surprisingly intricate dance rhythm is produced. There are also a few ukelele sized electric guitars in the mix, and a few singers... the song they sing is an anthem about their neighbourhood Rocinha. Quite a catchy tune!

There are also flag bearers and dancers... dancers of all ages, shapes and size. And the whole neighbour comes out for the rehearsal, young and old, and they all dance and sing along too! It is like rehearsing a street party!

Then last night, the party (I mean, rehearsal) was moved to a local community centre, which serves as home to the Samba School. the drummers banged, the guitarists strummed, the singers sang, and everyone danced. We drank beer, snapped pictures and watched in amazement! Forget about whatever song of the moment is topping the charts, this neighbourhood anthem, played over and over again, had the whole joint, samba schoolers and locals, in a dance-frenzy!

Unfortunately, we had to leave around 1:30 am (it only started at midnight!) because of a rather busy day today... unfortunately, because it was only shortly after we left that the school dancers did a costume change, and came out in their full Carnaval regalia.

Apparently, it was really something to see!

RIO DE JANEIRO 26JAN10: Paraty and beyond - We took a two-day trip with Louise & Benoit to Paraty, a colonial town that has associations with gold, sugarcane and pirates in its colourful history. We walked the stone streets, explored its white single-story colonial buildings with their brightly-coloured doorways, tapped our feet in time with local samba drummers readying themselves for Mardi-gras and enjoyed pizza, acai and gelato at the local eateries.

We took a side-trip to the beaches at Trindade, a forty-minute bus ride through the coastal rain-forest jungle where bushes of Impatience (a plant we grow as an annual in our gardens back home) grows wild among huge majestic trees in full bloom, some mauve (just like those in downtown Lisboa), some deep purple, some bright yellow, some white... the beaches were wild and crowded with tourists like ourselves, anxious to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Rio beaches.

The highlight of the trip (for me, anyway) was walking back to one the the featured beaches with Ella, after visiting a naturally formed swimming pool, waist high sea-water encircled by a sheltering ring of huge boulders. We took a path through the jungle, and made some wrong turns along the way... one wrong turn ended us up on a narrow muddy footpath through dense jungle with the result of any misstep being a 30 foot nearly vertical drop to the sea. Another wrong turn resulted in our having to scale rocks towering above crashing waves... during one stretch, we had to crawl on all-fours through the horizontal butt-crack of two huge garbage truck-sized boulders. At the end of each of these wrong turns was a sign warning people to keep off the path, risk of injury or death... but we had fun staring death in the face!

Saw an interesting thing waiting for the bus back to Rio... a large stray "Francis"-type mule nosing through a garbage bin, pulling out a plastic bag full of garbage, shaking it in its jaws until the bag ripped open, then nibbling on some of the contents. Ella made a good guess that maybe it was after apple cores or some kind of fruit rinds.

It was weird, though... like something a dog would do!

So, in Trindade: stray mules, in Olinda: stray goats, in Fortaleza: stray burros, and nearly everywhere (that we have seen) in Brazil: stray dogs.

RIO DE JANIERO 22JAN10: Amicable Mugger - One of our colleagues was strolling alone on the beach at Ipanema the other evening - it was only around 7:00, and there were still many people crowding the beach - when a stranger approached him. The stranger stepped on his foot (pinning it to the ground), pulled out a knife and demanded cash.

"No credit cards!"

Our colleague handed over his cash, and then (rather brashly I would say!) asked the mugger if he could at least give him back enough money to get "home"!

And the mugger did! Two reals and a short time later, our colleague was headed back to the hotel on the shuttle for locals, taking comfort in the fact that a., he wasn't hurt, and b., the mugger wasn't interested in his expensive camera!

RIO DE JANEIRO 20JAN10: Busy day - First of all, Lauree and Tessa made plans to try some tandem hang-gliding in the morning. They would each get a turn at being strapped to a professional hang-glider and then taking a running leap off of a cliff... a cliff on the mountain we see out our hotel window. Unfortunately, wind conditions were not favourable, and the experience had to be postponed until the afternoon.

On this same day, Benoit, Louise, Ella and I were having lunch on a yacht... the owner of the land that the circus site is set up on extended the invitation to all of the Quidam community. We certainly enjoyed the lunch, a hot and cold buffet attended by white-uniformed stewards. And in high style, we spent the not-too-hot windless afternoon slipping across the sea, totally mesmerized by the beauty of Rio! We felt sorry that Lauree and Tessa had to miss it, they having stayed behind at the hotel in hopes of a gust of wind or two. As it turned out, the wind never happened, so they missed out on the yacht for nothing.

And that night, we enjoyed a very rewarding session at The Irish Pub in Ipanema with some new musical friends who collectively call themselves Cafi Irlanda. The night was hot, the beer was cold, the tunes were challenging and the pub was jam-packed... everyone had a terrific time!

RIO DE JANEIRO 15JAN10: Half-Mast - On our way past the War Memorial, Lauree noticed the flag was at half-mast. With some concern, she asked fellow-passenger David (one of the Quidam school teachers, and who happens to speak Portuguese very well) to speak to the shuttle driver and find out what the nation was mourning.

After some back and forth with the driver in Portuguese, David turned back to Lauree and said "It's the flag, it keeps slipping down the pole."

Ahhh, Brazil...

Davi from Belo Horizonte tells me, however, that Brazil announced three days of mourning for Haiti... well, that is probably the reason, don't you think?

RIO DE JANEIRO 14JAN10: Local Transit - A few evenings ago, after an after-dinner stroll along the beach boardwalk at Copacabana and Ipanema, we managed to catch a ride back to the hotel on a shuttle-van for locals that ran along the length of Atlantic Avenue. It was a beat-up looking van with a sweat-infused interior, but we were happy to take the last of the avaliable seats.

Lauree, Tessa and I were in the back row with a non-descript person in the corner... the back legs of the seats were not bolted to the floor, so the whole row tilted forward whenever the van driver braked.

We felt sorry for taking up space in the van when it pulled up to a stop where three tired passengers were hoping to get on. Standing room only? No problem!They got on and stood hunched over other passengers sitting in seats.

Our ride back to the hotel ended up costing 2 reals per person (1.20 CDN).

RIO DE JANEIRO 12JAN10: Cristo Redemptor and Sugarloaf - We all looked forward to our first day off since premiere in Rio, especially Ella, who performed in every show during the first week, having to stand in for Dalyane, who was unable to sing, having caught something nasty in her throat while she was home for the holidays. It was also our first opportunity to spend some time with Louise and Benoit, although they had been having no difficulty filling their days with things to do.

It was bright, hot and sunny... and it seemed like a perfect day to check out the biggest attractions (aside from the beach, bikinis and bossa nova) here in Rio: Cristo Redemptor on Corcovado, and Sugarloaf.

It was already very crowded when we arrived at the Cristo Redemptor monument (one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World)... many, many people on the platform high atop Corcovado, striking the Redemptor's benevolent pose for their kodak moment in the 35 degree C heat of midday. Talk about roasting...

Then, off to the Pao de Agucar, "Sugarloaf", a bald, smooth-sided mountain of rock jutting out of the bay. It was a little cooler there, but not much to do but snap a few photos once the time was spent traversing the two individual teleferic "cable-car" systems to get to the top. We hit a snag on our way back down, however... something was wrong with the cable-car's gear mechanism on the lower half of the teleferic, which resulted in a 2 hour wait, standing in the late afternoon sun (down to about 30C by this time). People lined up so they could stand in the shadow cast by the people in line ahead of them... it was very natural for them to do so, and very interesting for us to observe.

Needless to say, we survived the ordeal.

RIO DE JANEIRO 10JAN10: First Time Food - BBQ Chicken Hearts, about eight of them on a skewer... I thought they were nuggets of beef or something. Tessa ate one, I ate maybe four of them... neither of us could really get into them.

RIO DE JANEIRO 08JAN10: Rio De Janeiro Premiere - Ella did the premiere last night to a full, enthusiastic house. The "Who's Who" of the Brazilian television and movie scene were out in force, so many celebrities that tickets were hard to get a hold of. We personally did not recognize any names of the illustrious lot, but there was talk that Versace's daughter was in attendance, and at one point, it was falsely rumoured that LADY GAGA would make an appearance.

Lady Gaga or not, the audience was charged, and it exploded in excitement once the show started... after a delay of more than 15 minutes! The celebrity VIPs wouldn't take their seats! They kept mulling about in the stands, sippiing their champagne and being seen!

Also attending the show was Louise and Benoit, who came all the way from Montreal... it was very special having them here, as they had played such an important part in realizing this dream of being on tour with Cirque du Soleil. If they had not kindly opened their home to Ella during her training in Montreal, I am not sure we could have managed it. As it turned out, it was a dear and unforgettable time for both them and Ella, despite Ella's need for some math tutoring (thanks Benoit), and ongoing encouragement with her singing... so many times they patiently endured her warbling away in the shower, learning her parts for the show.

For them finally to be able to see Ella perform in the show... well, it was a sweet, emotional time for all of us.

They also got to witness an after show Premiere Party... champagne, whiskey, cerveja, hors d'oeuvres, dance music, flashing lights... under the stars on a 28 degree C Rio de Janeiro evening!

Last shuttle from the party back to the hotel was at 4:30 AM... and party animal Lauree was the last one on it!

RIO DE JANEIRO 05JAN10: Flying Down To Rio - We had a memorable stay with Nana, Tim, Debbie, Bob & Chelsea... although we did catch some of that Olympic Fever that is going around. We might have to bring it with us to Brazil!

Leaving was a bit of a fiasco, as a result of the enhanced security measures at Vancouver International Airport (Bloody Underwear Bomber... I hope you get crotch-rot!).

First of all, there was no carry-on baggage allowed on the airplane... women were allowed purses IF the purses were no larger than an 8 x 11 sheet of paper, and computers were allowed, but no computer bags. People were boarding clutching laptops under their arm, cables dangling and diskettes falling all over the place. Fortunately, the girls were able to board with their violins in the cases, although there were several raised eyebrows and looks of annoyance from other passengers, who weren't so lucky getting their stuff past the check-in counter.

Then, getting through security was an ordeal. Both Tessa and Ella were "patted down", violin cases were opened and carefully inspected, computer swabbed for detection of trace elements of explosives... and every passenger was subjected to this, so you can imagine the line ups!

Our connections all worked out great, though... Vancouver to LA, LA to Miami, Miami to Rio.

When unpacking the next day, however, we discovered that one of our suitcases had its backing material shredded at both the top and bottom seam, and we found that a ceramic bowl Lauree purchased in Russia had become broken inside the suitcase (and I had taken such care to pack it carefully!). We then found a card in the suitcase notifying us that the suitcase had been physically searched by USA Homeland Security, whom were not liable for damage (Way to go Homeland Security).

Now, my question is, if all these security measures are now necessary, why were they not necessary before? Will we forever be not allowed bring carry-on luggage on the airplane? (I noticed the pilots and stewardesses were still allowed to bring theirs!).

What happens if a terrorist manages to blow up a plane with checked baggage? Will we no longer be allowed any checked baggage on an airplane?

That is scary...

VANCOUVER 31DEC09: New Year's Eve - The girls and I are celebrating New Year's Eve in the Sunshine Hills neighbourhod of Delta, British Columbia in the warm company of Nana, Tim, Debbie, Bob, Chelsea and her friend Andrew, enjoying good food and drink (wings, perogies, beer and more). We will work on the family puzzle (Beatles Abbey Road) and then get into a game of Rummoli until midnight.

Lauree will spend it with Cirque friends, watching the firework display of Rio de Janeiro from a boat in the Atlantic just off Copacabana beach.

Happy New Year everyone!

VANCOUVER 26DEC09: What a city! - We are having a wonderful time in Vancouver... we have shopped Robson St, enjoyed the lights at Van Deusen Gardens, survived Christmas, rocked out with The Beatles RockBand, strolled along the sea wall at Stanley Park (Lauree got to run it with Sean!)... and we continue to eat, drink and be merry.

Tonight Bob & Chelsea brought Tessa & Ella (Judy & Sean) to an NHL game, Canucks vs Oilers... Tessa has become a die-hard Canucks hockey fan (Nana is proud!).

VANCOUVER 25DEC09: Merry Christmas from Canada's west coast! - We are thrilled to be spending this Christmas in Vancouver, British Columbia with family... Nana, Tim & Debbie, Bob, Chelsea, Judy & Sean (wish you could have made it out too, Steve, Tracey & kids).

We wish everyone a very happy holiday with family and friends.

CURITIBA 20DEC09: Our last days are spent... - Lauree returned safely from Moscow Wednesday night, and Ella and I were so happy to have her back! She did not have any time to see the sights of Curitiba though... there were only four more days of shows before a Christmas break. Ella performed the last show on Sunday afternoon, and we flew out Monday.

Saw an interesting thing on our way to the airport... a brown furry lump on the side of the highway, large like a sack of cement... turned out to be a dead wild pig! We thought it was strange to see it, but I guess it is like someone seeing a dead deer on the side of the highway in Canada... not that uncommon.

MOSCOW 12DEC08: Lauree scraps at the market! - Lauree had an altercation with a couple of Chechen thugs at a market in Moscow the other day....

As Lauree puts it: "So, it was bad. I had just arrived at the Russian Market in Luzhniki Park with some of my Varekai colleagues (IT Frank, Irina, Rena & Stephanie), to shop for snow pants for tear down on Sunday. This is a very, very strange market, like nothing I've seen before - buses drive for days to get here from all over Russia so shop owners can buy goods from these vendors to take back to their store for resell. Most of the market is outside - hundreds and hundreds of stalls, people selling everything from purses to coats to jeans to boots to shoes to hats. EVERYTHING you can think of is there. And anyone can shop there, prices are low and you can still bargain... but it is more for locals, definitely not a market for tourists.

As we were entering the market, I took out my camera, snapped a picture of my colleagues walking ahead of me, then continued on, slightly behind everyone else. All of a sudden, two men came charging toward me... they each grabbed me by the arm and started shaking and pushing me and yelling in my face. I immediately cried out for Irina, who came running back, speaking to them in Russian, trying to get them to stop hurting me. She yelled for Frank, and he came running back and was trying to separate the four of us, of course pushing and shoving and yelling right back at them... and Irina trying to translate! Oh my gawd, it was chaos. A fist fight was mere seconds away!

As it turns out, these two men (from Chechnya working illegally selling fake diplomas and identification!) saw me taking the picture when we entered the market, and they thought I was taking a picture of them carrying out their black-market activities.

When things calmed down a bit, and I mean "a bit" - Frank had to be pulled off one guy, and Rena and Stephanie were trying to grab me and get me out of there (one guy held my arm so tight I have bruises) - Irina assured the Chechens I wasn't talking pictures of them and that if they happen to be in the picture, I would delete it. We quickly continued on our way to shop for snow pants, me with a few bruises, a few tears and a bad case of the shakes!

I'm just lucky they didn't take the camera.

And yes, they are in the picture. and no I didn't delete it!"

Now THAT'S a story! And with that, I think Lauree has pretty much accomplished everything on her list of things to do in Moscow!

MOSCOW 08DEC09: Tessa flies solo... - Tessa left Moscow this morning for Vancouver Canada, where we all will be spending Christmas with family.

According to Lauree... "we had a stressful morning - we almost didn't make her flight! If it wasn't for Dimitry (Cirque's driver) calling our room at 4:30 am wondering where we were, we would still be sleeping. And in our haste, we forgot to grab Tessa's violin on the way out... 10 minutes down the road we had to go back to the hotel and get it! We left the hotel at 5:20 am and should have left at 4:30 am, arrived 15 minutes before boarding closed.

PHEW! This is what happens when the Christmas party is the night before departure... and we made the mistake of going to bed when we got home, and we shouldn't have.

Didn't help that we had a HUGE snow storm yesterday and the roads were/are still in bad shape this morning.

But Tessa is on her way, wearing a bright yellow lanyard 'UNACCOMPANIED MINOR' which she absolutely hated!"

She made it to Vancouver, however, safe & sound (and completely exhausted!)

CURITIBA 28NOV09: 2012 (The Movie) - Last weekend, Ella and I went to see the "end of the world" flick 2012, starring John Cusack. We had seen Vicky Christina Barcelona in Spain, and since this film features Rio de Janiero (the movie poster shows the giant statue of Christ toppling over onto a panic-stricken mob), we thought it reason enough to check 2012 out while we were in Brazil.

As it happens, the film DOES NOT feature Rio at all... it is mostly about events that take place in the USA. The Rio Christ toppling scene lasted for about 10 seconds... and was in the film to show the "global" impact of the disaster.

Oh well, it was fun, and the special effects were amazing, so I don't mind being manipulated by the promo... what better way to get the population of Brazil out to see the movie!

CURITIBA 24NOV09: Some thoughts... - In Brazil, private property is protected from the public by way of 8-10 foot high walls... there are industrial properties with wrought-iron fences crowned with coiled razor wire, commercial properties with concrete walls topped with barbed-wire and residential properties with stone walls capped with sharp iron tacks or shards of glass strategically placed on end.

I suppose the wall-concept is a throw-back to the class system... walls separated the poor from the middle-class and the rich, the rabble from the elite.

And the street-side of the residential walls can be very deceiving - they can look decrepit, crumbling or scarred with graffiti, but the residence in behind the wall can well be a palace. We always peer through open doorways in the walls when we get the chance, and we are usually very impressed with what we see... lush greenery and gardens, cobble-stoned courtyards, ornate wood-work, beautiful homes.

Of course, walls and high fences are not unique to Brazil... they are everywhere in Mexico, and even in many parts of Europe. In London, we went to a health clinic that was surrounded by a high metal fence topped with razor-wire. It made me wonder if the wall was pro-active or reactive... and what was it protecting? Drugs? Staff? It certainly did not reflect highly on the community (or the society), in my mind at least.

Friends of ours back home in Ottawa recently purchased a beautiful condominium in a secure gated complex - guards at the gate, guards in the lobby. Is this the new reality for someone wanting to lead a comfortable and secure middle-class existence in Canada?

On a lighter note, the bananas in Brazil are fabulous, especially the stubby three-sided variety... seedless, with a firm texture, a little tart, not too sweet.

And on the way into Curitiba from the airport, Ella saw a banana tree growing in the wild.

There was a barbed-wire fence around it, I have no doubt.

BELO HORIZONTE 15NOV09: Don't you just hate it when... - you step in freshly-chewed gum! And in the 32C heat of BH, this wad of gum was extremely sticky... ever-stretching strands connected the bottom of my sandal to the mother-load on the pavement. Before I knew it, several wisps of the gum were wrapped around my bare heel... I tried pulling it off my foot, but the gum just kept stretching, and then it was all over my fingers and hand.

It was a real mess!

BELO HORIZONTE 15NOV09: Our last day is spent - lunching in the comfortable company of new friends Davi and Daniela. They brought us to a traditional Brazilian restaurant called Xapuri, housed at a one-time ranch house... there is still a horse stable operating at the premises. We ate outside (is there even an inside?) at one of several dozen rustic wooden plank tables with matching benches, in a large rough-hewn beamed open-sided structure with a thatched roof.

Our meal was self-served from platters brought to the table... pork sausage hammered flat and grilled, pco de queijo (cheese puff pastry), and some fried cheese sticks in batter, washed down with a round of Guarana (a Brazilian soda-pop). It was a slow, easy meal, and we barely managed to finish it off when the main course arrived.

A platter of tender filet-mignon-sized beef steaks with roasted potatoes, carrots, broccoli and banana, a pan of scrambled eggs coated in bread-crumbs, a huge salad, leaf lettuce, shredded carrot, apple slices, sun-dried tomatoes in seasoned oil, baked beans, rice, and other stuff... there was so much food on the table, I couldn't keep track of it!

At one point, the owner of the restaurant stopped by the table to make sure our meal was okay... and it was fabulous!

After lunch, we motored up to the heights of Praga do Papa for a spectacular view of Belo Horizonte.

Our only regret for the day was not meeting up with Davi and Dani on our first day in BH, instead of our last! Thanks folks for a memorable afternoon.

RATS ENCOUNTERED ON TOUR (4-LEGGED VARIETY):

BARCELONA - In broad daylight, while walking through a heavily travelled alley way. The rat was staggering around as if blinded by the light, impervious of anything or anyone around it... until a busboy went after it with a broom!

LONDON - At an underground metro station, nosing around the tracks.

RECIFE - In late afternoon... I was sitting outside, practising guitar in behind the kitchen tent, when I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a large rat steadily coming toward me as if I wasn't even there. I jumped up, startling the rat, who scurried back under the kitchen tent.

BRASILIA - Again, in late afternoon... I was sitting outside, practising guitar in behind the kitchen tent, when a rat passed by within three feet of me, walking along the bottom of the chain-link fence I was facing. It didn't seem to take any notice of me... but I sure noticed it!

MOSCOW 06NOV09: Meanwhile... - Lauree and Tessa are freezing as the Russian winter closes in... don't forget, Varekai performs under the Grand Chapiteau... the big-top... a tent!!!

And Tessa is sick as a dog... Lauree seriously thinks she has the H1N1 Swine Flu.

Poor things, having to deal with the cold, rain and snow... the 10-day Moscow forecast calls for rain and snow showers every day with high temperatures between 32 and 38C. Meanwhile, Ella and I are looking at clear sunny days for the next week-plus, with temperatures between 78 and 80C.

It just doesn't seem right...

BELO HORIZONTE 05NOV09: Our time in Ouro Preto - The promoter organized a day trip to Ouro Preto (meaning "Black Gold"), a two hour bus ride from Belo Horizonte. Ouro Preto is a former gold mining town and was the state capital in colonial times... Belo Horizonte became state capital a little over one hundred years ago, and was built specifically for this purpose.

Ouro Preto is truly a charming town, one that has preserved its colonial buildings and heritage. The town is laid out over a series of steep hills... a work-out for anyone determined to cover all there is to see in an afternoon.... but the cobble-stoned streets are clean and well-maintained.

We had about 5 hours to spend there... Ella uncharacteristically wore her watch, and was a very punctual time-keeper, reporting the time pretty much every hour on the hour.

We started at the 16th Century Church, Igreja de Santa Efigenia dos Pretos (there's that word "black" again), built by and for the slaves of the town of the time. Then a short walk around the corner and it was a brownie & hot chololate breakfast at a fabulous chocolateria... just bring me a bowl of that chocolate syrup! It was the high-light of an all-round pretty good day.

We then shopped at the surprisingly affordable artesan boutiques - arts & crafts, jewellery, knick-knacks, bric-a-brac, give the dog a bone... Lauree had asked us to keep an eye out for "amber" jewellery, but she must have meant agata (which is a pretty ugly stone). We checked out some agata at a few places, but favoured another local gem... topaz imperial. We found a place with reasonable prices, looked at their stones, hemmed, hawed, then decided "what the heck, we only live once, and when are we ever going to get back to Ouro Preto in this lifetime"... so we purchased a couple of topaz imperial gems and had them set in a pair of silver-stud earrings. This order would take the jeweller a couple of hours, until around 4:15, to complete... and that was cutting it pretty close, as our bus was to leave at 5:00.

According to Ella's watch, we had about an hour and a half to kill before picking up the topaz earrings. We walked around a bit more, then decided to grab a bite to eat at a pizza place, just a few stores down from the jeweller. We ordered a large calabrese pizza to split between us.

Time check: 3:20. Lots of time...

And then... we waited... and waited... and waited.

Time check: 4:00... and still no pizza!

It did seem to be taking an awfully long time... I checked my own watch: 4:40!!!Ella had the wrong time!!! We only had 20 minutes to catch the bus at 5:00!!! And we still had to pick up those stupid earrings!!!

We dashed out, telling the waitress on the way to cancel our order... it was taking too long anyway! We hurried to the jeweller, paid for and picked up the earrings, stuffed them in my knap-sack, grabbed a cab, raced to the bus... and made just in the nick of time!

Phee-ew!

Two stress-free hours later, we were back in BH... Ella was having a sleep-over at Brigitte's, so she got off at the hotel with her plastic grocery over-night bag, leaving me with day-trip stuff. I arrived back at the apartments and unpacked all our loot from Ouro Preto.

And that is when I noticed - the topaz imperial silver-stud earrings that we had taken such care in buying, and that had ultimately, if only momentarily, caused us so much stress... were MISSING!!!





It's okay, take a deep breath...




Next morning, Ella arrives back at the apartment from her night away - "Dad... why did you put these topaz earrings in my sleep-over bag?"

BELO HORIZONTE 02NOV09: Our Brazilian Hallowe'en in Brazil - It began last night after the shows... we were shuttled just out of town to a place called Freud's Bar, which prides itself as being "the world's hardest bar to find". It was in the middle of nowhere (nowhere being Vila de Serra, Nova Lima), deep in the bush, at the end of several off-shooting ridiculously-steep-hilled red dirt roads. The drivers kept getting lost, and at the end of the night coming home, rain had made the red mud so slick that vehicle, including the shuttles, had great difficulty climbing up the steep hills... the sound of whizzing spinning tires reminded me of our Canadian winters.

The party was a hoot, though... a great excuse for many of the gents to dress in drag. Ella was a Rocker Chick, in a costume put together with the help of friends (thanks Meg & Jamieson!).

Then today we marked the Dia de Finados) by visiting the Cemiterios Parque da Colina with an obliging new friend named Gustavo, his girl friend, and his chauffeuring father. It was a busy place... most of the graves (with flat rather than upright grave stones), families and friends were leaving flowers, sometimes paper prayers sheets, and lit candles on the flat-lying grave markers. I was surprised... the mood was much more sombre and respectful than the social family event we experienced in Mexico, where the Dia de los muertos was "celebrated" with live music, sugar skulls and coca-cola.

Gustavo's Dad then drove us through the neighbouring favela, where the back-streets were the narow lanes are the main streets... he stopped several times to call out to people he obvously knew... men sitting on door steps, women working the street. He then he asked if we wanted to walk around in the favela.

Assuring us that there was no danger, Gustavo, his friend and Dad took us through a short maze of alley-ways arriving, surprisingly to Ella and me, at the tiny home of Gustavo's grandma! Of course, we stopped in to say hello... she appears to be a warm, gracious woman. Ella mentioned to me afterward that it was the high-light of her day out and about (mine too!)

We were home early enough to have the diabolo girls over for munchies and a movie, Sofie's Revenge, which, judging by their frequent giggling, is a pretty entertaining chick-flick (it was in Chinese without subtitles!).

BELO HORIZONTE 24OCT09: Ella's MTV Interview - Today, Ella, Jamieson (the male vocalist) and Mando-Jim were interviewed by MTV. I assume it was MTV Brazil, which compares with MuchMusic in Canada... and Ella did mention that the girl interviewing her did not speak much English.

She asked Ella the usual questions - how'd she get into Cirque, what's it like being on tour with an international community, what kind of neat circusy-things has she learned in the artistic tent - and they filmed her vocal warm-up and on-stage sound check.

All in a day's work...

BELO HORIZONTE 21OCT09: Don't you just hate it when... - This tends to happen to me quite a bit: I set my half cup of coffee down for a moment and next thing I know, the cup is gone... Lauree, in the process of tidying up, has taken it, poured the coffee down the drain and washed out the cup.

Today I went to refill my cup of coffee from the two-cupper pot I made just before house-keeping showed up at the apartment door... the coffee is all gone and the washed out pot is drying by the sink.

Lauree must be in league with the house-keeper!

BELO HORIZONTE 20OCT09: Don't you just hate it when... - Found an nice supermarket around the corner from our apartment here in BH... well-stocked, organized, clean. I picked up a few items and cheerfully waited in line at one of the three busy cashes.

After a few minutes, I noticed that the cashier for my line I had a nasty cough - she was hacking all over everything that she passed through her cash. So I gave up my spot and went to the end of the line at the next cash.

Several minutes went by, and I was just about at the end of the cash counter when the cashier motioned to me that she was closing up her cash, finishing with the lady in front of me.

Off I went to the last of the three cashes... a lady got in line behind me with an armfull of groceries and a kid, who kept wandering off all cute with her little tray of mini-gos, and the "mom" had to keep pleading in Portuguese baby-talk for her to come back to the line. Several more minutes pass, and then I am finally about to unload my grocery items on the cash conveyor when a manager-type comes up and tells the cashier to let the annoying lady and her uncontrollable kid go through the cash ahead of me...

Okay... so now I was no longer in a cheerful mood - in fact, my inner-thoughts were expletively vowing never to return to that supermarket again, no matter how well-stocked, organized or clean it is.

I have had much more enjoyable experiences grocery shopping in Brasilia, where there were size-large cockroaches scurrying around on the floor of the produce area...

BRASILIA 07OCT09: Lobby Bar Jam - Monday night we jammed in the lobby bar... Jim, Ella and I. Afterward, Ella confessed to me that it was the first time she has jammed without having Tessa there to carry the load.

We played a solid two-hour set... and Ella played like a champion.

Great job Ella... I knew you could do it!

BRASILIA 04OCT09: Work And Dignity - We observed it in Mexico, and we are observing it here in Brazil... people employing themselves in any way possible.

Anyone with enough money to invest in a flat of chewing gum or a box of potato chips, a pallet of bottled water or a case of Coke... can become self-employed, staked out at busy intersections or roaming the streets, peddling their commodity. In Fortaleza, we saw crooked backs on several men, mis-shapened from hauling coolers of pop and beer up and down the beach for a living. I saw a young man here in Brasilia with more than a dozen 1.5 litre bottles of water tied on a string around his waist... a walking Costco.

And some provide good-samaritan services... like those who stake out a stretch of street and make it their business to guide drivers into public parking spots, or the fellows with umbrellas on rainy days, happy to share their umbrella with you as they escort you to wherever you are going. On a stretch of sidewalk beside our hotel here in Brasilia, a fellow arrives every evening with half-a-dozen plastic deck chairs, a couple of collapsable tables and a hibachi... and within a few minutes he is a restauranteur, selling grilled chicken and beef on a stick... and he has patrons, lots of them! There is always a crowd at his set-up (it reminds me of my favourite hot-dog guy (Gary) at the corner of Bank & Laurier!)

It seems to me that on any given day I have encountered more beggars in downtown Ottawa than in Mexico City or anywhere here in Brazil... that is, fully-capable people asking for money and giving absolutely nothing in return. It is as if the dignity of the people in Mexico and Brazil is such that they would rather do any manner of menial job than beg. And there are some, I must admit, who would rather rob you than beg.

Nighttime is a different story altogether - even in Brasilia, walking to the corner convenience store after dark can be an adventure, with local riff-raff trudging out of the dark like zombies, mumbling with an outstretched hand...

HAMBURG 29SEP09: Tessa reports on... Berlin! - "Berlin was great! We did the bus tour twice... we went around the first time to get an idea of what there was to see and do, and then we went around again to hop off and hop on at the sights we thought would be interesting. We went to see what was left of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, Bellevue Castle (where the president lives, or lived??!!), Haus der Kulteren der Welt aka The Pregnant Oyster (some sort of theater), Siegessaule aka Chick on a Stick (haha!!!), KaDeWe Mall (biggest mall in Europe, bigger than Harrods... we ate lunch there today!!!), the Holocaust Mahnmal (holocaust memorial) and Alexanderplatz (pretty much all the touristy stuff... )

There aren't really any stories... sorry.

We did LOTS of shopping!!! The streets are FILLED with stores like Zara, H&M, Mango, Ecco, Karstadt (a sports store like MEC), lots of shopping... I got a jean skirt and some jeans, mom got a new pair of Merrells and a winter coat (black of course, haha)

We stayed overnight in a small hotel... we made reservations at the train station so we didn't know what kind of place it was... unfortunately, we were staying there the same night a group of students were staying there, so we didn't get much sleep... the courtyard was right outside our room, which was right by the staircase, so it really echoed. The students were making lots of noise and screaming and singing until about 11 pm and then started up again at 6 am... of course mom complained at the front desk this morning.

We didn't get to go on the bike tour as planned because yesterday we were too late, and today they said the bike tour was cancelled because there was not enough people and the weather was not nice... (it rained).

I ate italian food all day yesterday... they have the best mini pizzas here in Hamburg at the train station. they come in a little box and they are warm!... it was pizza in a box!!! (that was my breakfast) then for lunch, I had another pizza in a box, but it wasn't as good as the first, and then for supper, I had pasta and mom had pizza!!!

Sorry we don't have any stories for you... hope you can do something with all of this!"

Thanks Tessa - good job reporting! All I can say is... what the heck is "Chick on a Stick"?!!!

BRASILIA 27SEP09: A little about Brasilia - Brasilia didn't exist before the sixties... it is a completely modern city, built in the shape of an airplane, and very much designed for automobiles - boulevards are six lanes in each direction, with traffic circles everywhere and few traffic lights. And there are huge service stations every few blocks, with gas pump access for 32 cars at a time!

Everything is very spread out - the buildings are in clusters, and the clusters are separated by large areas of green space. There are no neighbourhoods, per say... they are "zones", and the zones and the streets have no names... only letters and numbers. There is no central downtown core, but there are several large shopping complexes in every zone - we have three or four within walking distance of our hotel.

That is about all I can tell you about Brasilia... except maybe that it is a government town. Enough said.

BRASILIA 25SEP09: Baby Don't Go! - Lauree & Tessa left for Europe this afternoon. Parting was a lot more difficult than I think any one of us imagined it would be... (we miss you already!).

On the brighter side... Ella finished Grade 6 today! Now the big question is ... how will she spend her 4-day summer vacation?

BRASILIA 19SEP09: The bigger they are, the harder they fall! - Our big show in Brasilia was a big bust.

Despite the fantastic energy and efficiency of our Canadian Embassy patron Marilia, the show began deteriorating even before we arrived here. First, Ella and Jim became "not available" to do the show, for contractual reasons... but that still left Tessa and I. With a little help from our new friends, some wonderful step dancers from the Tribos das Artes, and a harmonicat named Engels Espiritos, we put together what I felt would be quite an entertaining package. Then, at the eleventh hour (the day before the really big shew), an overly zealous publicist with the theatre placed an ad in the newspaper to promote the show... an ad that made a couple too many references to our main employer. That was the last nail in the coffin... we had no choice but to bail.

It also cost us our fund-raiser show at the Canadian Embassy... I feel ill thinking about it! It all could have been soooo good.

BRASILIA 10SEP09: Vova's Birthday Bash - Tessa's buddy Vova celebrated his 15th birthday last evening, and as the two are very close, our family was invited to his party.

Vova's parents Natalia and Sasha put together a very impressive spread of traditional Russian dishes... a beet mixture with a grated cheese, mayonnaise and egg-white topping, gargantuan cabbage rolls, a salad of cubed ham, carrots, potato and peas, chocolate, coca-cola and plenty of vodka!

Highlights of the evening included several rounds of Twister, and a party game in which the adults sat in a circle and passed a playing card from one pair of suctioning lips to another. Anyone dropping the card was excluded from the circle after downing a shot of vodka.

There were several different techniques... some went for a full-lipped sucker, others counted on gravity by tilting their heads upward once they received the card, and one saucy fellow kept locking-lips in a mock embrace! I spent the entire game trying to come up with a way of going out graciously, and failing to do so, ended up winning the game! In the very last round, I was up against the all-time champ, a burly Russian gentleman with hands the size of catcher's mitts.

I really don't know how I did it... I get the feeling they let me win!

BRASILIA 09SEP09: Canada's Fiddling Ambassadors - While we were still in Salvador, I contacted the Canadian Consulate in Brasilia to see if there might be any chance of Tessa, Ella, Jim and I performing some Canadian Old-Time fiddling and stepdancing at the consulate. We received a response from Marilia Serra, Assessora de Imprensa, Cultura e Diplomacia Pzblica, who has come up with several wonderful opportunities for us, including a live radio broadcast, a dance workshop, a function at the consulate, and a showcase at a local theatre.

Unfortunately, there have been a few bureaucratic misunderstandings and miscommunications, resulting in Ella and Jim being unavailable to participate in some of the venues due to a perceived conflict of interest (Drogas!).

In spite of all of this, Tessa is doing a terrific job promoting Canadian culture in the form of old-time fiddling and step-dancing! Well done Tessa!

SALVADOR 01SEP09: Tessa takes the plunge! - Tessa and Lauree's work-buddy Brigitte have had many early mornings over the past week and a bit, working on their certification for scuba diving... but it all paid off today - they completed their training, made two open water dives and received their certificates!

Lauree went along for moral support and reports that they both did very well!

Congratulations to you both!

SALVADOR 28AUG09: Sailing, sailing, over the bounding main... - Well, not quite sailing... but on Thursday morning, we set out to the open sea on a large wooden vessel with masts and a motor, and sixty or so of our Cirque colleagues. It was a gray day with a drizzle of rain, and the ocean was choppy, but the warmth of our pleasant company soon took the chill off (or maybe it was the caipirinhas!).

We visited a couple of islands, Ilha do Frade and Ihla de Mara, where we met many of the locals trying to earn a buck selling jewellery, shells & enormous starfish, beach-wraps, wooden trinkets or Kodak moments on the backs of ponies or with an iguana.

Beach-combing was free... and there were plenty of stranded urchins to be found, and a starfish. It was fun.

SALVADOR 22AUG09: Un-break My Heart! - The promoter that brought Quidam to Brazil had also set up several concert dates for our long-time favourite songstress, Toni Braxton, in several of the cities on our schedule. We had a very good chance of getting VIP tickets to see her perform, and maybe even back-stage passes... but, for whatever reason, all her Brazil dates have been cancelled.

Maybe next time...

NOT KNOWING PORTUGUESE DRAWBACK No. 01: We just discovered that ever since arriving here in Brazil, more than 12 weeks ago... we have been using fabric softener instead of laundry detergent to wash all our dirty clothes!

Oops...

SALVADOR 17AUG09: Premiere Party Salvador - We attended the premiere party last night at the Cafe Bahia Aflitos where we experienced some of the best musical entertainment Salvador has to offer... Bahian drummers, some very impressive capoeira and special musical guests, Timbalada, featuring the legendary Carlinhos Brown. Timbalada played fabulous, funky hip-hop! It was just like seeing Sly and the Family Stone (except no one fell off the stage stoned out of their head!).

Great party...

SALVADOR 14AUG09: Salvador Premiere - Ella did the Salvador premiere last night, a big night with plenty of Brazilian stars making an appearance, including (apparently) singers Marisa Monte (Brazil's answer to Celine Dion, but I think better liked), and Margareth Menezes... but we did not get the opportunity to hob-nob with any of them.

The premiere party has been post-poned to Sunday night... that gives everyone all of Monday to recover!

SALVADOR 13AUG09: Big news! - And the big news is... Lauree is going to Russia!!! For around 10 weeks starting sometime in September!!! And she's bringing Tessa with her!!!

Lauree will be going to Moscow to temporarily fill in for a counterpart on the Cirque du Soleil show Varekai.

Wow!

SALVADOR 07AUG09: The Bahia experience - Salvador, capital city of Brazil from 1549 to 1763, once the second most important city of the Portuguese empire, being the major commercial hub for sugar cane, tobacco and slaves.

We took a bus tour yesterday to get the lay of the land, along with a couple of Quidam friends, Brigitte & Adrian. We saw a few of the major sights - the Farol de Barra (a fortified 16th -century lighthouse), the Igreja do Bonfim and the Lacerda elevator down to the Mercado Modelo - but most of our on-foot time was spent wandering through the Pelourinho, the historical centre of the city. It is an area of beautiful but age-weary colonial architecture on hills of winding narrow cobble-stoned streets, with plenty of local colour - young children with gooey, tear-stained eyes asking for food and rubbing their belly, young men aggressively trying to "gift" you a "wishing" ribbon, robust afro-women in petticoated 18th-century-style dresses soliciting snapshots...

I unwittingly gave a tiny hand-thrust-out-from-nowhere a bit of change, and the charismatic little cherub became my shadow, chatting at me, pointing out points of interest, posing for photos I wouldn't take... until he found another better-paying prospect.

And at one point, we were watching some capoeira dancers put on a very impressive display from the relative safety of the upper-deck of our tour bus, and a little stick-flipping tyke started yelling up at us demanding change. When he received only sympathy instead of cash, a local on-looker (quite possibly his father and business partner) began berating us all for being so cheap, for not giving the poor kid a couple of measly Reals!

What can you do but take it all in stride...

We ended the tour-day decadently getting ourselves ice-cream cones at the famous Sorveteria de Ribiera, with plenty of choices difficult to chose from... we did not know what half the flavours were. And it was there that Ella and I shared a sort of "Gift of the Magi" moment.

Ella wanted strawberry & lemon, but she somehow received strawberry & mango... and she dislikes mango. Seeing her disappointment, I gladly took the unwanted cone and told her to re-order, giving up on the peanut & banana cone she knew I was going to order. In the 30 degree Brazilian heat, ice-cream does not stay frozen for very long, so I had to make quick work of Ella's cone. I was through the strawberry and into the mango by the time Ella came to join me with her new order - a peanut and banana!

Poor kid - she felt terribly guilty about me not getting my original choice, so she got it for me... I thought I was doing her a favour, she thought she was doing me a favour. In the end, the peanut & banana cone was too much for her to handle, and despite our best efforts, most of it melted-away in our sticky hands!

SALVADOR 03AUG09: First impression of Salvador... - was one the freeeway from the airport to the hotel. Traffic slowed, a single police car blocking off one lane, a clear plastic sheet covering the body of a dead middle-aged male, head in a pool of blood, police or news photographer snapping pictures. No sign of a crashed vehicle, or motorcycle... the fellow must have been hit by a car.

The hotel where we are staying is beautiful, perched right on the ocean, mighty waves crashing on the rocks below us... I could throw a beer bottle into the sea from our balcony. A little sandy beach cove just down the drive.

And no sharks in sight...

RECIFE 01AUG09: Our last week is spent... A day trip to the beach at Maracaipe, Tessa attending a capoeira workshop, Ella going on a school trip to see the work of local painter/sculptor Francisco Brennand... and we were done with Recife.

RECIFE 18JUL09: Porto de Galinhas - Yesterday, we went on an outing with a bunch from Cirque to a beautiful beach (considered the most beautiful in Brazil) at Porto de Galinhas (Port of Chickens), approximately 40 minutes by bus from Recife. Apparently, it got its name during the last half of the 19th Century - whenever "black ships" illegally transporting slaves from Africa to Brazil would arrive in the bay, word around the village was that "there are new chickens in the port".

We started our day there getting on a jangadas, a flat and narrow six-seater sailboat that ferried us a short distance out to Porto de Galinhas' famous "piscinas naturais" - tide pools carved out of the shelf of coral reef, backyard-pool-sized basins approximately 4 feet deep, full of tropical fish and a couple of dozen bathers, including the girls and I. Lauree decided against going in - she didn't feel like getting wet... then fell butt-first into a foot and a half of water getting off the jangadas back at shore... boy, did we laugh! We were then invited to go along with some of our Russian friends to a remote beach, fifteen minutes away by dune buggy. The girls loved riding in the dune buggy, perched on the back hood and holding on to the roll-bar, chanting "RAPIDO, RAPIDO"... there were no seat belts and the driver was a maniac... I was terrified for them! We were finally dropped off, and after cutting through (what I believe to be) a mango grove - a spectacular inter-weaving of branches and roots in a stagnant pool - we arrived at the beach.

Tide pools at Porto de Galinhas

It was more of a lagoon, with no waves, but still salty water... and the best caipiroskas we have had since arriving in Brazil - they were too good!

And there our afternoon was spent... except for a brief excursion (on little narrow boats similar to the jangadas, except with beach umbrellas replacing the sail, and propelled by the boatman using a 12 foot pole) around the bend of the lagoon to a spot where sea horses could be found... they were caught in glass jars by the boatmen and passed around for all to see, reddish ones, gray ones... there was also some frog-looking creature, except it hardly had any front legs, and it had a lizard tail!

Now that is how to spend a day off in Brazil!

RECIFE 16JUL09: Run Day Recife - Lauree ran 8K this morning in a run organized by the gym where she has been participating in running classes - like spinning classes, with loud pumping music, but instead of stationary bicycles, everyone is on a treadmill. Apparently, you run at your own pace, but speed up, slow down, go on an incline, etc, at the direction of a pace leader... Lauree enjopys it immensely - enough to be going to the 7:00 morning class!

The run was small, about 30 people total, running on the brick boardwalk along the beach - it reminded her of the several Law-Day runs she has participated. However, there was no redirected traffic, no crowds to cheering the runners on, no pace-bunnies... just runners trying to avoid walkers, strollers, beachchair-laden trailers, and opposing pedestrian traffic!

Lauree ran with Danielle, who does physio with Quidam... the weather was slightly overcast, with a sprinkle of rain - perfect conditions for Lauree!

They then celebrated the race finish with a small tub each of agai na tigela (like a smoothie) at the cabana across the street from the hotel. Agai are small berries that have more anti-oxidants than blueberries (great for runners), and the locals make attractive bracelets and necklaces from them.

RECIFE 09JUL09: A new tent is christened! - Last night was premiere here in Recife. Ella had the night off, but we stayed on site long enough to participate in a tent christening!

A procession of maracatu musicians and dancers were brought in for the occasion, dressed in colourful attire, all feathers, glitter and skindainty-figured ladies in whirling petticoated gowns and feather headresses, strutting men carrying large feathered beach-umbrella-type contraptions, huge muscular brazilian fellows banging out rhythms on side drums (like the ones in Olinda!), a few horn players, and LOTS of enthusiasm!. This traditional procession, once carried out by slaves, dates back hundreds of years, and apparently imitates the dress and mannerisms of the Portuguese royal court of the Baroque period.

They dance-marched around the lot for a good 30 minutes to the loud hypnotic rhythm. One interesting thing was to see the reaction of the pirhana, the local staff hired to usher, work the ticket office and concessions... they instinctively clapped and danced along, completely absorbed by the music, just like the carnaval troupe.

They all belong to the same Church of Rhythm!

The christening ceremony included a shower of vodka shots for the new tent... then it was back to the carnaval parade! The dancers, the drummers, the horn players, the strutters... everyone was having a such a blast! I cannot get over the intense passion and pleasure of these amazing people!

RECIFE 07JUL09: Lovely Olinda - We spent the day in a lovely little colonial town only a ten minute cab ride from site... Olinda. The town seems filled with 16th Century churches, monastaries, convents, and assorted other Catholic edifices. There are also many, many artesan shops which sell unique quality wood carvings, paintings, blankets, jewellry, bric-a-brac... we were invited into the home of an artist whom Lauree had sought to seek out - he "finger" paints! He demonstrated his technique by painting a (picture of a ) fish for us... he paints lots of fish!

A wonderful memory-in-the-making in Olinda... a "drum club" was rehearsing in a park... a group of about 20 girls/young women, several drumming sophisticated rhythms on large booming side drums, some shaking shakers, others dancing, everyone chanting (I recognized a Santana tune!)...

The pleasure in watching them was seeing the pleasure these girls so obviously got out of doing what they were doing!

RECIFE 05JUL09: Welcome to Recife - We have long since settled into our digs in Recife. We can walk around in relative safety here... the massive mall (2nd largest in Brazil!), the supermarket, restaurants, the beach... the only thing is, we are none of us too keen about splashing in the waves here.

The reason for this is... SHARKS! There are signs posted all over the beach warning of the increased risk of shark attack in these waters.

No problem - so we beachcomb!

FORTALEZA 25JUN09: Our last days are spent... - The girls spent the better-part of a day last week with a local fellow who showed them (and the other school kids) how to weave various things out of palm leaves - hats, grasshoppers, roses... amazing stuff.

On Sunday night last, Quidam celebrated its 4500 show with another party on the beach. Before going, we engaged in some vodkafication with our Russian friends, where I was dubbed "bobba-yup" (apparently a vulgar expression, but it's the thought that counts).

The 80's themed party was fun... some outrageous wigs (mullets) were worn, and the dance floor was absolutely packed. Strange the music people attribute to the 80's... I recognized very few tunes that I can remember. I brought Ella home around 3:00 in the morning, Lauree and Tessa staggered in at 4:30, completely worn out from dancing. Some revellers stayed out long enough to swim in the sea at daybreak, then catch breakfast back at the hotel.

We also had a triple dark this week - three days off with nothing to do but relax... sleeping in, walking the beach, (the girls) playing in the pool, Lauree & the girls) getting manicures and pedicures ($15 CDN for both/person), (Tessa) jamming AC/DC songs with Quidam guitarist Rudy & Jim, just taking it easy.

Then last night, a quiet celebration of Lauree's birthday, followed by an evening of well-wishes and several caipiroskas (the national cocktail of Brazil, caipirinhas, but made with vodka instead of cachaga) at the pool bar. Sweet.

FORTALEZA 21JUN09: Beach Park - On one of our Mondays off, we went as a group to a local water-park called Beach Park. It was a perfect day, slight cloud cover, not too hot, and we had a great time - there were no line-ups (being a Monday, I suppose), so we were able to try every slide at our leisure, as many times as we wished. And what a treat is was, to be at a water-park where the water is the temperature of bath-water (instead of ice-water (Mount Cascade!).

The most memerable slide of the day was the Insano, which we all went down more than once (crazy Ella went down 4 times!). It is described by the following exerpt taken from the Beach Park website:

"The Insano is the highest water slide in the world at 41 meters high, a record listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Its height is equivalent to that of a 14-storey building. As a consequence of its height and slope, this water slide provides an extremely rapid descent - taking between four and five seconds - at a speed of 105 km/h. Because of these characteristics, the Insano is considered the most extreme of this type of equipment on the planet."

We all had bruised bottoms the next day!

FORTALEZA 20JUN09: It's just the way it is - A couple of lads juggling pins for change in front of three lanes of cars stopped at an intersection... a woman digging through each can-load of trash dumped into the compacter of a garbage truck in hopes of finding bottles or cans that can be returned for the deposit. Enterprising ways of dealing with financial diffulties.

Then there was the fellow who crossed the street with a gun pointed at the head of one of our front of house colleagues, making off with his wallet... right in front of our hotel... at 2 O'Clock in the afternoon!

Another colleague was followed to site by a group of young school girls asking for money, who proceeded to pat him down when he claimed to not have anything to give them.

We are quickly learning to keep our eyes, ears and minds open...

One tour veteran, RR, plans to keep his cash in his undershorts when he ventures out... but any mugger demanding he hand over "his valuables" will get quite a surprise when RR obliges by reaching down into the front of his trousers!

FORTALEZA 17JUN09: One for the record books! - Yesterday Cirque du Soleil celebrated its 25th anniversary... and one of the events planned to take place all over the globe was a bid to claim the Guinness Book of Records title for the most people walking on stilts. Tessa, Ella and I took part - the stilts were only a foot off the ground, so it didn't take too much time to get the hang of it - and walked the regulation distance marked out around the big top, en mass with the other artists, technicians, teachers and school kids. Many of the cirquadors (called "pirhana" here in Brazil) participated as well... we all had a lot of fun.

Another gimmick that apparently took place... audience members for the evening show were given flashing red noses to wear during the performance... and when the cast took its final bow, they all wore the flashing red noses too!

And then a cake was brought out and... well, you get the idea.

We were all back at the hotel during these latter celebrations - we had the night off Cirque Du Soleil 25th Anniversary Event!

AND DID YOU KNOW: It may be obvious to some, and common knowledge to others, but the Guinness Book Of Records was created by the Guinness Brewery, as a resource for answering numerous "fastest, longest, largest" type questions debated nightly in pubs in Britain and Ireland!

I did not know that...

FORTALEZA 12JUN09: Premiere Fortaleza - an exciting couple of days...

The dress rehearsal was on Wednesday night, and the big top was filled to capacity, mostly with middle to high school-age school kids, some travelling as long as ten hours on a bus to come and see the show. From the moment Jon (Mark) first appeared on stage to "animate" the audience until the casts' final bows, the kids clapped, cheered, hooted, hollered and laughed! It brought back fond memories of our last show in Barcelona!

Then an experience Ella will not soon forget... most of the artists did a quick change and then came out to the stage once the lights came on to greet the kids, several hundred of them, and pose with them for pictures, hug them, and share a very special moment with them.

Then last night, the premiere... another wild and enthusiastic crowd, including some twenty-odd kids who we have met on the beach in front of the hotel, surfing the waves on broken and discarded styrofoam boards. Cory (Sylvester - German Wheel) was good enough to make arrangements for them to come and see the show. They loved it, and posed for pictures with some of the artists backstage after the performance. They were thrilled, we were thrilled - another nice moment...

The premiere party was held on the beach across from our hotel... open bar, servers with trays of munchy stuff, live traditional music (accordian, drum, triangle, guitar, bass & singer), and many, many party people dancing and having a terrific time. It was inspiring!

Lauree and the girls got in at 4:30... the old man had already been asleep for several hours!

FORTALEZA 03JUN09: Saturday at the beach - The beach is crowded and the atmosphere is festive. For ten Brazilian reals ($5 CDN) a beach broker will find you a perfect spot and set you up with wooden deck chairs and an umbrella... peddlers stroll by with their wares - bikinis, cover-ups, caps, sun-screen, ice cream, coconuts, cooked crabs, shrimp & lobsters, jewellry, arts & crafts, kites... a trio of "forro" musicians stroll by - triangle, brazilian fife & drum... when you get tired of sitting, you can go into the very warm sea and get battered around by huge waves that come in rapid-fire succession, or go horse-back riding (10 reals for forty minutes), take surfing lessons or get a massage.

The beach day is over by late afternoon - the sun sets at 5:30 pm. Apparently, daytime at the equator is ~12 hours long, all year round... and that leaves 12 hours to enjoy the night-life!

FORTALEZA 01JUN09: Creepy Critters - Tessa & Ella have recently had rather exciting episodes with creepy critters.

In Hurghada, both girls were in the bathroom, freshening up for dinner after their long day out and about under the Egyptian sun. Suddenly something dropped unto Ella's bare shoulder. Her initial reaction was non-chalent indifference, thinking that "Dad" was up to his tricks, and had somehow flung an elastic on her... but when "the elastic" began to grope at her skin with little suction cup fingers, she glanced at her shoulder in alarm, only to find herself face to face with a lizard! She screamed. Tessa in the adjoining powder room screamed, and both started hollering for Dad to come quick! By the time I had arrived, Ella was huddled nervously in the corner, Tessa was crouched up on the toilet seat, and the terrified lizard had scurried under the vanity. I easily caught it in the folds of a towel, and set it free in the open-air hallway outside our suite door.

Cornered lizard!

Then this week in Fortaleza, Tessa was down in the business centre doing on-line schooling when out of the corner of her eye she saw something drop from the ceiling vent, followed by a clickitty sound, like someone drumming long nails on a hard surface. She took a look in the direction of the sound, and discovered a crab on the floor of the business centre, scuttling sideways along the wall! Tessa quick-wittedly grabbed her camera and snapped a couple of photos before dashing out to notify a resort worker of the situation. Lauree happened by, and a worker with a broom was soon on the scene, poking the crab toward the door of the business center. Lauree had the job of holding the door open, and would yelp in mock-panic whenever the crab scuttled in her direction. Finally, the terrified crab was freed from the business center and making its way to the relative safety of the resort grounds surrounding the pool area. Its freedom may have been short-lived, however... only a few hours later, it was "all-you-can-eat" crab night at the resort restaurant!

Cornered crab!

FORTALEZA 28MAY09: First impressions - We arrived here a few days ago, and already we do not know what day of the week it is. We do know that it is winter here, because that is what we have been told. It is hot, in the high twenties every day, and very muggy... but our hotel is situated right on the beach, and the Atlantic Ocean here is even warmer than the pool at Hurghada in Egypt, so we are quite fine with it.

A couple of things we have noticed:

Flies... they are everywhere. You know how sometimes you get a pesky fly that will not leave you alone? Well, here at any given moment, there are 8 to 10 pesky, aggressive flies that will not leave you alone. In addition to the two or three that are buzzing around your face, there is one on your plate, one on your fork, one on the lip of your glass (one even on the end of your straw!), and a couple crawling all over the food you are trying to eat. And Tessa informs me that every time a fly lands, it immediately vomits. Nice to know.

The other thing we were quick to notice... the poverty surrounding us. The resort hotel in which we are staying is borders on a favela, a Brazilian shanty town, a conglomeration of crammed-in tumble-down shacks, each not much bigger than a couple of office cubicles. And people are living in them...

We have been advised not to venture out on foot... alone or otherwise. Take a cab where you want to go, do whatever you went to do, then take a cab back to the hotel. It is not that the people in this town are bad or dangerous... they are just desperately poor.

Ella and I walked a couple of blocks down the road to a corner store to buy water and couple of pair of the Brazilian-made Havaianas (flip-flops) that are so popular. The people in the dimly-lit, dank hole-in-the-wall corner store, customers and workers alike, seemed to all be very nice, friendly folk.

And they seemed very poor... so we are not minding the flies so much.

OTTAWA 21MAY09: Home for a holiday - Landed in Montreal to visit family there, spend a very nice few days with Louise, Benoit, Anne-Marie, Mike, Pascale, Ronald and little cousins Margot and Gael.

Had the chance to see the new Cirque Du Soleil show OVO - it was brilliant! Saw many friends now with that show - Sebastien "La Cucaracha" Savard, Patrick Burke, David Shultz and Paul Teichgraber.

Home to Ottawa for doctor & dental appointments, catching up with work colleagues, friends and family, Derek (thanks for putting us up!), Jayne & Krish, John, Tami & Patrick, Steve, Tracey, Rylee and the twins, Paisley & Parker. Managed to get in a performance in Burlington, Vermont, and an all-nighter with fiddle friends at the Richmond contest. Good times...

Then up at Lake Clear, outside of Eganville, to spend the week with Dallas (thanks for everything) and visit with other family & friends in and around Pembroke.

Then it was time to go... but not before spending a wonderful few hours enjoying the hospitality of Lil, Derek and daughter Kathleen (thank you!).

HURGHADA 05MAY09: The Deep Blue Red Sea - We headed out on a boat and went snorkling in the Red Sea... it was the clearest and bluest water we have ever seen, the colour of Windshield Washer Anti-Freeze! We stopped a couple of times to splash about... the coral reef was spectacular, and the fish... all shapes and sizes (up to about a foot long) and in every colour-combination imaginable... pinks, yellows, purples, blues!

There were quite a few Russian tourists in our group of snorklers... one of them was a young butter-face woman in her early twenties. I should have guessed she would be trouble by her bathing suit... a thong bikini (who wears a thong bikini to go snorkling!). Sure enough, as soon as we were in the water for our first snorkle, she had a problem with her mask and needed the snorkle leader, a young Egyptian fellow, to help her with it.

With our masks, we could see everything happening underwater, so while he adjusted the mask on her above water, below the surface, she was busy coiling her legs around him like an octopus. Her invitation was blatantly obvious... so off they swam, clutching and groping each other. They were like mer-people desperate to find a secluded reef where they could spawn. The funny thing is, no matter where they swam, there were a dozen other eager snorklers following closely on their heels (flippers), usually with Tessa & Ella leading the pack. There was no getting away for them! Strangely enough, once we were back on the boat, the girl showed absolutely no interest in the snorkle leader, nor him in her. I guess there is a time and place for everything...

Later, after a great on-board lunch prepared and served prison-style by the crew, we were dropped off on a desert island for a couple of hours relaxation... a true "desert island" - no plants, trees, only sand... and quite a few tourists!

LUXOR 03MAY09: Beasts of Burden - Donkeys, pale grey and white in colour, are everywhere you look, in city, town and country, with over-sized owners on their back or pulling two-wheel carts loaded with sacks or spilling over with some form of greenery, with the driver perched on top. It was poignant to see a donkey hauling an overloaded cart with her baby trotting happily by her side. And donkeys not engaged in work stand droopingly untethered on the spot where their owners leave them, seemingly grateful for the break.

Not to say the people don't work like beasts of burden themselves... it must be harvest time... the fields are busy with men, women and children toiling through the heat of the day manually cutting and bailing the golden hay. A contrast to the desperately vile camel flies that swarm the tourists at every attraction and market.

LUXOR 02MAY09: The River Nile - After touring around the Valley of the Kings and the Hatshepsut Temple on the West Bank, we set out in a felucca, a traditional Egyptian sailing vessel, and sailed down the River Nile from Thebes back to our hotel in Luxor. It was incredible to be out on the cool peaceful water... along the shore, palm trees interspersed with occasional mud-brick buildings, lots of birds, storks, kingfishers, the odd off-duty donkey or solitary cow grazing on the lush grasses... a flat-bottomed boat in the reeds with boys fishing by slapping the surface of the water with a cane, a small barge filled with garbage bags from cruise ships (the bags are loaded onto carts to be taken into the desert and burned.

CAIRO 29APR09: Laashokran! - "Laashokran" is "No thank you" in Arabic... a valuable phrase to know, because we were besieged by camel flies everywhere we went... and we had to be careful, because everyone, no matter how young or old, was on the take:

A young boy of 8 or 9 years bullied the camera out of my hands to take some corny pictures of Tessa and Ella at the Great Pyramid, and then expected some payment. I had none to give except change in which he had no interest.

A middle-aged gentleman put his (arab headdress) on Tessa's head as I was trying to take a photo, then suggested I take a picture of him with the girls, then kindly offered and took a picture of me with the girls... and then asked for payment. I had nothing to give but the aforementioned change, which he begrudgingly took.

We were inside a tomb, and some fellow began bringing the obvious to our attention... for instance, I was looking at stars carved into the stone ceiling, and he pointed and said: "Stars!". As we were leaving the tomb, he insisted that we compensate him. I showed him my admission ticket, explaining that I already paid to see the tomb.

None of these vultures were very happy with me. The most intimidating of the bunch, however, was when one of the Tourist Police invited me to take a photo of the girls with his camel... I declined Laashocran), but snapped a quick photo of the beast at his friendly urging. He then looked me in the eyes and made made the gesture of money (rubbing two of his fingers and his thumb together)... I apologized as politely as I could for not having any money on me and quickly exited... the automatic weapon hanging at his side was making me very nervous!

Then the straw that breaks the camel's back, that instantly turns us from naive tourists to seasoned travellers... at the airport this morning, a fellow at security takes our bags from us to place on the belt for the xray machine.... then makes the money gesture with his fingers. Lauree and I both have the same reaction: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

ISTANBUL 28APR09: Three Continents in one day! - Today we took a ferry up the Bosphorus River to a village in Asia called Anadolu Kavagi, at the mouth of the Black Sea. From this village we made the 25 minute hike up Caferbaba Sokagi to the ruins of Anadolu Kavagi Kalesi, a medieval castle built by the Byzantines, very picturesque, with sheep and goats grazing the around it on the hillside. From its strategic location, we could look out toward the Black Sea, and see Europe on the left side of the Bosphorus and Asia on the right.

We left Anadolu Kavagi (in Asia) in the late afternoon and returned to Istanbul (in Europe), and then took an evening flight to our next destination, Cairo, Egypt (in Africa).

We were in three continents in one day

ISTANBUL 27APR09: Whirling Dervishes - We went to see a whirling dervishes show tonight, and it left us a bit confused. Three men making themselves dizzy by spinning around in circles didn't seem very entertaining... maybe it is some kind of religious ceremony.

We just didn't get it...

There was limited seating at the venue, but our assigned seats for the show had a lot of potential... Tessa & Ella were in the first row, and Lauree and I each had an aisle seat in the rows immediately behind them. However, as the lights dimmed for the show to start, a chair appeared in the aisle beside Lauree and a man sat down. This was a little annoying... we would have preferred to sit together if we had known it was a possiblility. In fact, apart from Lauree and now the stranger beside her, none of the seats in their row of six-now-seven seats were filled.... except soon a photographer, apparently from the press, was taking advantage of the empty seats to take photos of the performance... she was practically on Lauree's lap for a few of the shots she was taking.

Then the stranger beside Lauree made a call on his cell-phone, despite the usual requests to refrain from doing so common at most performances. Lauree gave him her nasty look but he simply turned his body away from her with his hand up at his face to deflect the glare. When he finally finished his call, Lauree was "in his face" and snapped "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

I was unaware any of this was happening, but Tessa & Ella were able to fill me in with every detail... they found these events more entertaining than the Whirling Dervishes on the stage!

ISTANBUL 26APR09: Topkapi & Turkish Baths - Today's highlight would have been our tour of the Topkapi Palace, with its harem, treasury, and well-groomed grounds... or possibly the Basilica Cistern, a strange-but-beautiful magical place built underground in the 6th century... but in truth, it was neither. The highlight was our afternoon at a 300-year-old Turkish Bath called Cagaloglu Hamami (we couldn't find the 500-year-old Turkish Bath!).

I will give you my accounting of the experience (Lauree and the girls went off to the women's bath once we were through the doors)... I stripped down, and with a towel wrapped around my loins I was led into the men's bath, a large chamber with small marble basins lining the marble walls and in the center of it all, a large flat marble slab of a table. The only sounds I could hear as I sat on the slab (alone but for one other gentleman in the room) were echoing murmurs from remote reaches of the bath house, and the plink of drops of condensed water falling from the domed ceiling high above me.

A few more men came in, then some bath attendants... a tag team was assigned to work me over. First of all, I lay face-down on the slab while one fellow with rather strong body odour groped me from head to toe, and tried to crack my back. That didn't work, so he instructed me to roll over and then he groped me some more (mercifully avoiding the more delicate areas of my anatomy).

Then I was sent over to one of the small marble basins where another fellow who smelled of tobacco (called "The Doctor") was ready to take over. He rasped the skin of my body with a rough wash cloth, then doused me with several pans of hot water before sudsing me up firmly and most thoroughly... it was a bit of a challenge maintaining the integrity of my towel placement! After a good rinse down, off I went packing to the peace and serenity of a small marble hot room for a lengthy soak-in-my-own-sweat.

After a couple of self-serve splash-downs at the basins, I was done like dinner, so I toweled off, got dressed and enjoyed a cup of Turkish Tea while I waited (quite some time) for Lauree, Tessa & Ella to emerge from the women's side.

It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon, different from our experience at the Arabic Bath in Granada, but just as good (Lauree says even better!).

ISTANBUL 25APR09: Turkish Delights! - I will not bore you with the tourist stuff we have done since arriving here... searching for treasures at the Grand Bazaar but avoiding any bantering, wandering the maze of back streets cramped with locals, experiencing the sights and smells of the Spice Market, sampling some very tasty Turkish Delight, eating kebaps, BBQ corn-on-the-cob and drinking apple tea... but I must tell you of one amazing thing we experienced yesterday: prayer time at the mosque.

We followed the throngs answering to the call to prayer - a chanting loudspeaker in each neighbourhood - removed our shoes at the entrance to the mosque and sat ourselves down as inconspicuously as we could in an area set aside for tourists at the back of the vast domed chamber. Men clambered into shoulder-to-shoulder rows parallel to the front of the mosque - ten, fifteen, maybe twenty rows deep - groups of men leaving their row to fill gaps in rows in front of them (like defragging)... the women were segregated in a screen-in section at the back of the room, behind even the area for tourists.

The imam began chanting and the rows of men standing in their socks or in bare feet (many washed their feet outside the mosque before entering) went through a cycle of varying positions (kneeling, bowing down face to the floor, or standing) until the ritual was completed. Then it was over as quickly as it started. Some people began to socialize, but most went back to whatever daily business the were doing before they came to prayers.

This ritual is repeated five times a day... I am not certain if everyone must attend all five sessions though.

PRAGUE 24APR09: Czech (Republic) Please! - We have spent the past four days holidaying in and around Prague... it has been our first experience in an eastern-European country, and we are very impressed. Prague is beautiful, cobbled streets, narrow lanes, shops, restaurants, bars, and very busy with tourists.

Lauree did a great job finding a place for us to stay... it is the top floor loft of the Hotel U Tri Bubnu (The Three Drums), built in the 14th century and just half a block from the old town square. From this perfect location, we have been easily able to do most of the must-do things on foot... the medieval astrological clock, the castle, the cathedral, Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter and Cemetery, Golden Lane and the house where writer Franz Kaftka resided. And Prague is full of shops selling hand-made wooden toys and marionettes... Tessa & Ella can spend hours trying out the different characters.

As a special treat, we went to see Mozart's Don Giovanni last night... performed by marionettes! Mozart debuted that particular opera here in Prague, and he personally conducted the orchestra for the performance!

We also had time to take a day-trip to Cesk} Krumlov, an historic Bohemian town a couple of hours from Prague, where we had a tour of the town's 13th century castle, visited the gothic Church of St. Vitus, and enjoyed typical Czech lunch at a restaurant operating out of what used to be the town's medieval jail. Our tour guide was a bit snippy... when Lauree realized that she had eaten lunch at a table by herself and expressed that it was too bad she didn't sit with the group, the tour guide snapped back: "Madame, I am entitled to spend my lunch hour on my own!"

We have thoroughly enjoyed our few days here in Prague... one word of advice, though - the residents of Prague seem annoyed when you mistakenly use their former country name, as in "Are these marionettes made here in Czechoslovakia?"

It is now called Czech Republic, please!

GLASGOW 20APR09: Our week is spent... - Ella performed at the Glasgow premiere, and the End-of-the-UK-tour party was held the next night. Cousin Sharon and her daughter Emily arrived from Toronto to visit for a few days and then cousin Brian came for the weekend to take in all the sights around Glasgow... the Tenement House of Miss Agnes Toward, George Square, Buchanon Street, the Cathedral, the Necropolis... They watched the show Saturday night (Ella's final UK appearance), and then on Sunday, we all took the train on a day-trip to Edinburgh (except for Lauree, who had to work).

Edinburgh was fabulous... we explored the shops, toured the castle, walked The Royal Mile, hiked up the side of Arthur's Seat... a full, memorable day.

GLASGOW 13APR09: The Godfather of Glasgow Fiddle - Upon arriving in Glasgow, we looked up fiddler Brendan McHugh at the suggestion of Mr Alan O'Leary at the Kilkenny Pub session in London. Brendan is a great guy and a great player from a fiddle family... his father Jimmy McHugh was a well-respected fiddler.

We did a session with him at Sharkey's Bar, and he came out and made introductions for us at The Ben Nevis. We are in pretty good hands here in Glasgow! We plan to make more music with him and his son Patrick before the week is done.

SHEFFIELD 12APR09: Going, going gone! - We have been in Sheffield for 6 days, and tomorrow we pack up and leave. And that is pretty much all there is to say about it.

We went to a large mall, and we have attended a few music sessions, met some nice people (Claire, Brian & co.), but that is it... I think we are still recovering from Dublin.

Today we went for a day trip to York, about one hour away by train. Beautiful place, lots of history, lots of interesting shops & outdoor markets. Explored The Shambles (a famous medieval street like something out of Harry Potter), climbed to the top of Clifford's Tower for a great view of the city, spent 20 minutes watching fudge set, Ella accidently upset some toys in a window display... just a regular family outing.

THINGS I DID NOT KNOW:

Curry is as British as fish and chips!

AND

Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom... was an Irishman born in Dublin!

How about that!

DUBLIN 06APR09: Our last days are spent... - going from one traditional session to another! On Saturday night after Ella performed her last Dublin show (to more than 6,000 enthusiastic people!), we headed over to join a session at O'Donoghue's, a well-known pub that dates back to 1789. It was standing room only, but luckily the girls where able to squeeze into the session circle. I was able to enjoy a pint of Guinness before I finally found myself seated in the session. We got kicked out only at closing time, but not before receiving a warm invitation to come back for the early Sunday evening session.

The girls slept in until 1:30 in the afternoon on Sunday, but within an hour we were playing away at the Sunday session at The Brazen Head (oldest pub in Ireland, established 1198). We had waited all week to attend this particular session... they had sessions every night at 9:30, but the girls were not allowed in after 9:00. The session was very good, a wonderful fiddler (John Quinn?) and some amazing bawdy balladeers. One would start each song with a quip, like the one about a spendthrift woman who sent her son to the butcher to pick up a sheep's head for their Sunday dinner with instructions to tell the butcher to "cut as close to the arse as possible!" Or the woman who was scandalously taking "the pill", only to find years later that it was only aspirin... she ended up having 12 kids in 12 years, but did not once get a headache during that whole time. There were several songs were about falling in love with a beautiful woman who once in the bedroom turns out to be bald with false teeth, implants and a wooden leg. Entertaining stuff!

We then scooted back over to O'Donoghue's... there was a young lad playing banjo when we arrived. It seems the way for a banjo player in Dublin (or maybe even all of Ireland... or maybe even all of the UK!) to make a name for himself (herself implied) is to play Mason's Apron as fast as his fingers can fly. In fact, this is the schtick of the banjo player at Gogarty's (fiddler's do the same thing back home with Devil's Dream). Anyway, the kid (Graham?) was good... but then he left. In sessions, players tend to come and go...

The session at O'Donoghue's was quite fun, though. A talented gypsy-fellow playing a double-necked "mando-guitar" brought along a sweet German girl to do some Irish dancing (shuffle one, shuffle two, shuffle three step step). And then two gorgeous Swedish girls sat in, all blonde and blue-eyed, and played a rousing set of Swedish fiddle tunes (they sounded kind of French-Canadian!). Unfortunately, we had to leave while O'Donoghue's in still in full swing... we had had special request to perform one last time at Gogarty's.

Gogarty's was fun enough... the violin player had lent Tessa his pick-up so that she could compete with the amplified regular players. Ella could now use the microphone that on previous occasions they had to share. And the girls got to step-dance on a good, solid wooden dance floor (the German girl back at O'Donoghue's danced on a stone floor!). The full-house was well entertained, our hosts were happy we could make it. Then there was a musical shift change, and The Ice Queen showed up... and the party's was over for the girls!

And it was... we left shortly afterward, worn out from our long day of sessions, but feeling content that we made the most of our time in Dublin!

DUBLIN 06APR09: Some traditional session politics - Most, if not all, of the sessions in Dublin are hosted, and tourist-driven sessions can have many different hosts and players over the course of an evening, like shift-work. Some hosts welcome anyone to join in, while other hosts seem to prefer to put on more of a show-based session with their regular established players. Gogarty's has several different hosts, or same hosts with different line ups... in fact, I think we were lucky to be extended an invitation to play there.

The Cobblestone too seems to have different shifts of session players throughout its hours of operation. We were enjoying the Sunday session at The Cobblestones with a welcoming group of players, when a fixture fiddler known (by some) locally as The Ice Queen arrived and announced that anyone wishing to play in her session would have to tune down a semi-tone, because her flute-player buddy only brought his E-flat flute! Of course, all the players left (you may recall that we headed over with one to the session at McNeil's). And there may be some justification in her AKA - on our first meeting with her (the night before at The Cobblestone), we got the distinct impression that she was not too thrilled with us being there... whenever Tessa started to play along with a song she was not familiar with, The Ice Queen would glare at her! She would occasionally "glare" in my direction too, but I thought she was just making eyes at me!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for The Ice Queen!

DUBLIN 04APR09: Road trip across Ireland - Cousin Brian is visiting us once again, and this time Marlene (Shillingford) came along with him. Yesterday we set out on a road trip across the isle, heading west across counties Kildare, Offaly and Galway to County Clare, with its picturesque patches of green pasture bordered by an intricate network of stone fences. These pastures lay scattered amid virgin fields of rocks... we could appreciate the generations of Irish toil it would have taken to clear a field for farming. We also saw the Burren, a barren landscape of rippling lava-lke rock, looking like a river turned to stone. Oliver Cromwell famously described the Burren as:

"Not enough wood to hang a man, not enough water to drown a man and not enough soil to bury a man."

Next stop was Blarney Castle, several counties away. The castle is a beautiful ruin, and the grounds around it are like something out of a Gainsborough landscape painting. We were all very impressed with it, and it was wonderful to be able to go inside it and climb up the various levels to the top of the turret, where the famous Blarney Stone forms part of the outer wall. We each kissed it, but the procedure was a little bizarre... lying on your back,then sliding down head-first into a small crevice to plant your lips on the cold stone outer wall. Having an "official" photographer there to capture the moment made it a little too commercial for our liking...

We then raced to Waterford, to get to the Waterford Crystal factory before it closed... we didn't make it.

So, off we motored to the lovely town of Kilkenny for a pint of Kilkenny and a very nice meal at The Marble City Bar & Restaurant, an eatery well-recommended by more than one local we asked.

A full-day's outing, and back home by midnight!

DUBLIN 01APR09: Dublin Premiere - Quidam opened in Dublin last night to a full house - a record-breaking 5,885+/- people, the largest single audience Quidam has performed in front of to date. The night was memorable... Ella did her usual splendid job, and the audience was incredibly enthusiastic and one-hundred percent into it right from the get-go... it felt like the audience on Quidam's last night in Barcelona. And when the artists came out to take their bows in the finale, the whole arena was flickering like lightning with the flashes of hundreds of cameras (even though photos are not allowed!).

The night will also be memorable for two other reasons... first of all, it was albino Veronica (Ronnie) Gravelin's farewell performance with Quidam. She is a marvelous acrobat, and such a lovely girl in every respect... she will be terribly missed by all of us.

And the other reason... (and this is no joke!)

Lauree and Tessa were passing through an area restricted to Cirque personnel and there were all these strange kids running around... she gave the security guy a "what the... " look, and he sort of winked and explained that the kids "belonged to the guitar player from U2!".

Lauree immediately sought out "The Edge", who was just standing there with his wife. She asked if he would like to come back stage and meet some of the cast members, but he replied that he was just on his way out. His wife then spoke up, however, saying that their young daughter would very much like to meet the little girl in the show... ELLA!

So Lauree dispatched Tessa to fetch Ella, and engaged in idle banter with The Edge, whom Lauree found to be a very polite and humble person, considering he is like Irish royalty! For instance, she asked if all the kids (there were five of them) were his, and he discretely replied that 2 belonged to Bono (Lauree said "Who?", but claims she didn't hear him properly with his soft-spoken manner!)

Ella came down (with a dozen other anxious artists), was introduced to the daughter, and was able to exchange a few words with The Edge, who told her she has an excellent voice and did a fantastic job. He was surprised, upon hearing her age, that she has been doing the role for almost two years already.

Photos were graciously taken by Sasha Pestov (Vova's dad, a catcher in Banquin, and a brilliant photographer!) of Lauree with The Edge, Ella with The Edge, Tessa, Ella (and late-arriver PR person MJ) with The Edge, and several other artists with the Edge... he was very nice to be so obliging to us all!

DUBLIN 31MAR09: Fiddler's Dream - Five Irish sessions in three days... and counting!

Around 8:30 Saturday night (after going for a tour of the Guinness Brewery, where I enjoyed the best glass of Guinness in my life!), we headed out to join a session at The Cobblestone, but upon arriving, there was a large notice on the front door stating "NO MINORS ALLOWED ON THE PREMISES AFTER 8:00". I went in to see if there was any possibility at all for Tessa and Ella to come in and join the session, leaving them waiting outside the pub. The barmaid was sympathetic and agreed to talk to the owner about it, but she was not overly-optimistic. No sooner had this exchange taken place, than the owner (a huge burly bouncer-of-a-man) come through the front door like a proud mother hen with Tessa and Ella under his wing.

"They were looking so forlorn out there on the sidewalk... " he explained, and made room for them in the session circle. Once they had played a few sets, he came over and extended the invitation to play there anytime we wish over the week.

We went back to The Cobblestone again on Sunday for the afternoon session, and then when it ended, we headed over to McNeil's at the invitation of one of the players we had just met. Once again, it was the royal treatment for the girls, Jim and myself. Such nice people... we'll make it back to McNeil's for sure.

On Sunday night, we went to The Oliver St John Gogarty Bar, in the heart of Temple Bar, a popular area with the tourists, where we sat in with a group of players who had a regular gig at the bar. Many cirque folk came out to enjoy the "craic", and a great time was had by all... enough so, that we were invited back to put in a repeat performance with the regular act on the Monday night!

So, three days in Dublin, and all we have really seen has been a brewery and the inside of several pubs... but what we have experienced so far has been worth a pot of gold!

MANCHESTER 27MAR09: The Jolly Angler Session - We headed over to The Jolly Angler late, around 11:00 pm, after Ella's second show at the MEN Arena. By the time we arrived, there were already some 20 musicians in the session... and the pub is very small, so we weren't convinced we would find seats. It wasn't long, however, before a couple of players called it a night, and a patron kindly gave up her chair, and eventually we were all around the session table, although not sitting together.

We had heard from our friend Tyrone that the Riverdance gang were planning to do some jamming at a pub this same evening, and The Jolly Angler was the only place I knew of that had anything going on, so we were hopeful they might show up here at the session. Before long, the Riverdance gang started arriving, those we immediately recognized, Eamonn the piper (the only Riverdance player to join in on the jam) , Niamh the fiddler, Guy the drummer, David, the front of house manager... and a multitude of dancers, male and female.

Tessa and Ella were busy playing tunes, but desperately wanted to dance... they had been itching to do so since watching the show the night before. Soon enough, floor space was made and then it was Jenny's Chickens time.... heads turned, impressions were made, and the ice was broken. Tessa and Ella traded off reels with the guys from Riverdance... one dancer (Alan Kenefick?) borrowed Tessa shoes to do some steps that must have left scorch marks on the dance floor. And it must have been a first when two of the fellows did some Riverdance Irish high-stepping with the girls and Jim backing them up with a rousing version of Reel de la main blanche!

Alena, Canadian dancer from Ontario, recognized Tessa and Ella's dance style immediately... she had danced in a show with several people we know from the stepdance community - Stephanie Cadman, Tiffany Fewster, Dan Stacey...

It was a terrific way to spend the wee hours of the morning on our second-last evening in Manchester. I am fairly certain, however, that it was not your typical session at The Jolly Angler.

MANCHESTER 26MAR09: Riverdance - One of the newer faces on tour, a fellow by the name of Tyrone, worked extensively with the show Riverdance before coming to Quidam, and as both shows are currently running in Manchester, he managed to get us some tickets (thanks Tyrone!)

After a pre-show backstage tour given by David, the Stage Manager, we took our front (6th row!) and centre seats and thoroughly enjoyed the show. The dancing was splendid, the music was inspiring, and the drummer was absolutely awesome!

It had always been a dream of ours that Tessa & Ella might someday be part of a Riverdance production - in fact we know a young woman, Alexis McIsaac, who plays fiddle with the show - but that happening now seems not very likely. The Riverdance we watched last night is sadly on its "farewell" tour.

We cabbed it straight from the show out to the burbs of Manchester to join an Irish session at the Union Inn... unfortunately, the girls were not allowed to set foot in the pub, so it was back to the apartment for an early night. We should be able to get our musical fix tonight at The Jolly Angler (a session highly recommended by our Irish Centre friends in Liverpool, and Patsy from Birmingham), and then it's cheers to Manchester... we fly to Dublin Saturday.

BIRMINGHAM 22MAR09: Goodbye Birmingham - Before we knew it, we were sitting on the bus on our way to Manchester. Birmingham was okay, and the area we stayed in has undergone massive urban renewal over the past few years... beautiful modern squares, a picturesque canal system (complete with Canada Geese, Mallards and sight-seeing barges), museums, shopping malls, restaurants and night clubs, all built around a splattering of heritage municiple buildings. We spent an afternoon wandering around at The Bull Ring, a huge North American-style shopping mall with Starbucks, La Senza, The Gap... felt like home, but without the urge to buy.

As it happens, just as we were leaving Birmingham, we passed an amazing-looking terra-cotta- coloured church... it would have been nice to check out!

BIRMINGHAM 17MAR09: St Patrick's Day - We met some lads at a session at The Spotted Dog on Monday night, who invited us to come out and perform a St Paddy's Day set at The Ceol Castle, a well-known Irish establishment here in Birmingham. We did the set, a mix of Canadian and Irish tunes, to an appreciative crowd (the night was still young). We headed out while the going was good... to celebrate St Paddy's back at the apartment in a more cosmopolitan fashion: with Indian take-away!

BIRMINGHAM 15MAR09: Birthday girl! - It was during a blizzard, some twelve years ago... I was shovelling out the driveway, and Lauree, nine months pregnant, poked her head out the door to say that she had begun having contractions, and that we should soon think about getting to the hospital. Our neighbour and good friends Rob & Diane McCullough, had offered to mind Tessa during the birthing, so I headed over to let them know the big moment had arrived. They asked how Lauree was doing.

"Fine," I answered; "She just put in a load of laundry in order to have some clean underwear for the hospital"

A few hours later, out popped Ella-boo... happy birthday darling!

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE 14MAR09: Highlights of the week - Newcastle-Upon-Tyne is the site on the River Tyne where a new castle was built in the early 11th Century by William the Conqueror. The area has an important history, being where the railway locomotive was first conceived, as well as the electric light bulb. The locals call themselves "Geordie's"... the most famous Geordie of late is Sting.

Started off the week with a visit to the Life Science Centre, where we watched the Diet Coke and Mentos demonstration - the Mentos cause a physical reaction creating great gushers of cola - the presenters got soaked!

Next day, an afternoon trip out to Tynemouth, a nice little town at the mouth of the Tyne... picturesque, with the ruins of a priory and castle, and an English beach. Had fish and chips at Marshall's... Lauree asked for water and the waitress brought us "wa'er".

Walked around downtown Newcastle, Cathedral of St Nicholas, The Black Gate, Castle Keep, the numerous bridges on the Tyne...

Did an Irish session at The Cumberland Arms with Jim and the girls. Drank a glass of "mead", an old anglo-saxon alcoholic beverage made from honey... it is mentioned in Beowulf, and tastes something like a sweet white wine. The other interesting thing to come out of the session was that the accordian player and a crazy talented harmonica player knew Beatrice Reel... apparently it is a famous standard around Donegal. And Fiddler Joe knew of a Canadian fiddle tune... St Anne's Reel! The session was a good one... it really hopped!

That session led to another... two others, in fact. Last night Tessa and I dropped in at the Tyneside Irish Centre session (kindly gentlemen drinking Guinness and playing flutes, irish pipes, whistles, bouzouki and bodhrans), then joined up with Jim & Ella at the Egypt Cottage (insane session with maniac flddlers, accordianists and our crazy talented harmonica player playing everything at lightning speed!). We didn't spend too much time at this session, only about an hour... Tessa & Ella were soon found out, and asked to leave (no minors allowed).

A fun week thus far...

BELFAST 08MAR09: A Musical Moment - We ended up participating in three different sessions on Saturday, our last day in Belfast. Before noon, we brought Ella to the Odyssey Arena (where Quidam was being performed) and got her going there, then headed over to a 3:00 afternoon session at McHugh's. It was an intimate session, with extremely talented (and personable) players... Kevin (on fiddle), Hazlett (bouzouki & 1934 Martin four-string tenor guitar), Sean (on bohdran) and a fellow with carney experience whose name I didn't catch (pipes, penny whistles & flute).

Then at 6:00, we made our way to the early session at The John Hewitt (thanks Gerry!). The session was large and friendly... several flutes, a violin, two tenor banjos, accordian, anglo concertina and bohdran... and the pints were on the house. By the time Jim (Bevan), Lauree & Ella arrived after the show, it was standing room only... the place was jam-packed.

Every once in a while, we experience a "musical moment", a moment when the music is happening, and everything is right with the world. We had one such moment with our friends at O'Gillins in Lisbon, and we had another Saturday night at The John Hewitt. We were playing a lively set at break-neck speed, and all of a sudden, in the middle of The Mountain Road, there it was. Every last one of us felt it... the seasoned Irish players around the table, Jim picking away on his mandolin and the two talented (and fortunate!) Canadian girls. It felt magical, and it felt so good we didn't want it to end...

The John Hewitt early session finally broke up two hours later than usual, around 11:00. We made a dash for our last session at The Hercules, which was well underway. We joined in for awhile, but the long day was starting to catch up with us (or was it the pints!). We called it a night around 1:00 and cabbed it back to the apartment.

We are so fortunate to have had this experience... it seems that every session we have attended, from our first at the Royal Oak in Ottawa just before heading off on tour through to Lisbon, Barcelona, London and Liverpool... was simply a lead up to that moment at The John Hewitt on Saturday night, a moment I will certainly cherish for the rest of my life.

And Lauree experienced her first (of a few) Guinness Saturday night... fresh and on tap, she says it tasted great!

BELFAST 06MAR09: Traditional Sessions - You can't swing a cat in Belfast without hitting a bar that hosts a traditional (Irish) session... the challenge is to find one that will allow in minors. I contacted several places ahead of time, and the kind manager at The Garrick welcomed the girls to sit in on any of the three sessions they hold during the week (Thanks Colm!). We went, along with Jim, on Wednesday night... the players were terrific, and allowed the girls to sit in, with some initial suspicion. It did not take long, however, for the girls (and Jim) to pass the credibility test, and later when the time came for us to leave, every session player stood up and shook our hand, genuinely thanking us all for coming out.

Two last sessions tomorrow... we are hoping for the best!

LIVERPOOL 01MAR09: Magical Mystery Tour - Tessa, Ella and I set out yesterday on our own Beatle tour. We took the bus to the suburbs where The Fab Four spent their childhood. Our first stop was Penny Lane (which took us a good hour to find!), and it was a bit of a disappointment. The charming little lane where the barber shaves another customer, the children laugh at the banker behind his back, the fireman keeps his fire engine clean and the nurse sells poppies from a tray... appears to have been solely a product of Paul McCartney's imagination.

The lane is, in reality, mostly residential, with only one short stretch of no more than six shops toward one end. We picked up sandwiches for lunch at Penny Lane Cakes (they had no fish and finger pies... I asked!), and ate them across from the shop, against a brick wall with vulgar words scratched into it. And every single Penny Lane street sign has been vandalized with spray paint. I don't understand it.

But Tessa did find a lucky penny... and on Penny Lane!

We walked for more than half an hour along Menlove Avenue to see Aunt Mimi's house (No. 251), where John Lennon lived from 1945 to 1963. Pretty nice neighbourhood, pretty nice houses... certainly more middle-class than working-class... I was surprised.

Last stop was the orphanage made immortal in John's song "Strawberry Fields Forever". Well, not quite forever... the only thing left of "Strawberry Field" is the front gate, covered in graffit and the signatures of decades of Beatles fans who have made the pilgrimage, as we have, to this Beatle shrine. It would have been wonderful if someone (like Paul, or John's estate) had purchased the orphanage before its demolition, and turned it into a Beatle Museum or something.

The Cavern Club (which we visited a few days earlier) suffered a similar fate. The original location was demolished for a shopping mall... but the business was moved to a new location. It seems to me that it would be the locale, the dark cavernous basement club, and not the operation itself, that Beatle fans would be interested in seeing.

Still, Liverpool seems to be proud of its famous sons... and that is good.

LIVERPOOL 27FEB09: First impressions... - One of the first things Tessa and I saw upon arriving in Liverpool was a well-fed rat... creeping nonchalently along the sidewalk before disappearing through the bars of a sewer grate. The walk from the train station to our apartment took us down street after street of dilapidated boarded-up buildings. And Lauree and Ella had already warned us about the apartment (they arrived earlier in the day)... it was not the Ritz (but it sure rhymed with it!). We were not impressed. After nearly a week in Liverpool, however, we have changed our view somewhat (and the accommodations aren't that bad either!).

Wandering around on our first few days here, I had wondered what Liverpool would be like if it were not for the Beatles... their commerical presence is everywhere - Beatle stores, Beatle tours, a Beatle Museum, Beatle-themed pubs & restaurants, Beatle childhood homes, even Beatle graffiti.

We have since discovered pre-Beatle Liverpool... wonderful old buildings, churches, monuments and parks, a fabulous dockside with unique shops, and an amazing history that includes slave trading. This city also has the largest population of Irish outside of Ireland... it opened its arms to welcome more than a million Irish immigrants during the devastating potato famine of the mid-1900's.

Downtown Liverpool also features several blocks of ultra-modern pedestrian shopping, with every shop you could imagine, or at least, need. And talk about night-life... Liverpool is a happening place! Although most of the pubs are strictly age 21 or over, we did manage to find ourselves an Irish session Friday night, at St Michael's Irish Centre... Tessa and I attended, and had a wonderful time (thanks for the lift home Vincent!).

LONDON 22FEB09: London Fiddle Convention - Brian headed back to Cermany, Lauree and Ella got on a bus to Liverpool, and Tessa and I headed off to the London Fiddle Convention.

Tessa participated unnoticed in a couple of the workshops offered - Texas Swing, (during which the tutor spoke with much authority and conviction about the North American contest circuit, stating Texas Swing was the style to master for any success at those contests) & Ukranian Folk Fiddling. She sat through the tutors' concert, then jammed with the rest in a half-hour jam session (featuring such classics as Soldier's Joy & Mary's Wedding). Then came Tessa's moment of truth... the fiddle contest.

The contest was very low key, with only two classes... Under 18 and Over 18. The first prize for Under 18 was a Fiddler's Fake Book. The first prize for the Over 18 was a Fiddler's Fake Book PLUS an appearance in the evening concert program.

Tessa was the first to register and consequently, the first to perform. Her demeanor was confident, her tone was rich and her intonation was flawless. Her waltz flowed, her jig lilted and her reel jumped.

She took first place in the Under 18 class. The organizers invited her to perform again during the evening concert, but we had an 8 o'clock train to catch to Liverpool.

The Texas Swing tutor came over and spoke with us, exclaiming that Tessa's playing style was exactly what he was referring to in his workshop. He asked if she had done any contests back home.

"A few... " she replied.

LONDON 21FEB09: Salisbury, Stonehedge & Bath - After spending Thursday racing Brian around London to the must-see sights, we took advantage of Brian's offer to drive to go on a road trip into the English countryside.

First stop was the city of Salisbury, where we strolled down many of its charming streets and a tour of the cathedral. On our way out of town, we caught a glimpse of Salisbury Hill, the more ancient site of the city, made famous in pop-music-culture by Peter Gabriel.

Made our way to Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain. Impressive primitive structure in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by meadows of grazing sheep. We could get near enough to touch it, or dance naked or anything... but well worth the trip, nonetheless.

Last stop on our outing was the Roman city of Bath. Night fell as we sat in a traffic jam on main street Bath. Our skin was well wrinkled by the time we managed to escape the grid-lock, find a place to park and set out on foot. What we saw of the city was beautiful... but we did not see much, unfortunately.

Saturday was another day in London, showing Brian last minute sights, including a visit the to Church of St Clements, of "Oranges and Lemons" fame. The church was of particular interest to Brian, as it was adopted by the RAF and restored with their funding after WWII.

The day ended doing high tea at The Orangery at Kensington Palace.

LONDON 21FEB09: A last days are spent... - Tomorrow we leave for Liverpool, but we have not wasted a moment of our time since Ella finished the final shows of Quidam last Sunday at the Royal Albert Hall.

MONDAY: At the crack of dawn, Lauree left on a plane for Dublin on a reconnaissance mission for Tour Services, while the girls and I hung around London. While Tessa worked frantically on her schooling, Ella and I shopped downtown for penny whistles (Hobgoblin Music!) and searched high and low for a store called Diesel, where Ella wished to purchase a pair of fingerless mitts gloves. We didn't find the store, which apparently has several branches around London.

During the evening, the three of us rushed to the outskirts of North London for an Irish session at The Duke of York in High Barnet. After almost an hour and a half on the tube (including a considerable delay when we got off at the wrong stop and wandered for a bit!) plus a twenty minute power-walk at the end of the line, we finally staggered up to the darkened pub... the sign on the door read "temporarily closed, under new management"!

We returned home, ate pizza and watched two episodes of "Scrubs", one episode of "My Name Is Earl", and then went to bed.

TUESDAY: Lauree was now in Belfast. While Tessa worked frantically on her schooling, Ella and I resumed our search for Diesel with a few street name locations to assist us... still no luck in finding one though!

During the evening, the three of us rushed to the outskirts of South London for an Irish session at The Kilkenny Tavern in South Wimbledon. We arrived without any misadventure around 8:30, only to be told that although there would indeed be a session, it would not begin until around 10:00. It was well worth the wait, an incredible session with interesting tunes (some we knew some we didn't) and more than a dozen friendly welcoming musicians on fiddles, flutes, accordians, concertinas, pipes, bodhran and guitars. We regretted that we had not found this session back in December!

After the session, we returned home, ate pizza and watched two episodes of "Scrubs", one episode of "My Name Is Earl", and then went to bed.

WEDNESDAY: Lauree was now in Glasgow, on the final leg of her trip. Meanwhile, back in London, We were packing and tidying up the apartment in preparation of a visit from cousin Brian (Burchart).

LONDON 14FEB09: 250th performance - Ella has been working hard this week, doing her own shows every second day, plus covering for the other girl who shares the role (Dalyane), who is off with a knee injury.

Tonight, Ella put in her 250th performance in the role of Zo
e.

We're proud of you, darling!

LONDON 13FEB09: I Don't Like... Fridays (the 13th) - No bad luck on this day... Sir Bob Geldolf was in the audience for tonight's performance. None of the artists got to meet him, however - the QUIDAM PR person kept him all to herself...

How nice is that!

LONDON 11FEB09: Attack of the Motorized Wheel Chair! - It was memories of Barcelona all over again for Tessa on the "Tube" the other day. It was rush hour, and a gentleman was having great difficulty maneouvering his heavy motorized wheel chair out of the jam-packed car - one of the wheels kept rolling over an obstruction... Tessa's foot!

Ouch!

LONDON 09FEB09: The Perseverance Set - Played a Canadian fiddle set at The Perseverance pub (Jim. Tessa, Ella & I) with special guest Elke Sullivan on piano. Our upbeat energetic set really stood out from the other performances there... all singer-songwriters lamenting about love lost.

Still haven't found an authentic Irish session here...

LONDON 08FEB09: London Premiere Celebrities - We had no idea the London premiere was attended by many celebrities... and we certainly didn't get to meet any of them!

The list includes actresses Naomie Harris (the voodoo witch in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies), Jaime Winstone (actress in movies Kidulthood & Donkey Punch), Sarah Harding (singer for Girls Aloud), Liz Fuller (Brit TV personality/model), Elizabeth Emanuel (fashion designer for Lady Diana), Mariella Frostrup (journalist/sexiest voice-over in British TV), Amanda Lamb (model/Brit TV personality), Mikyla Dodd (Brit soap actress/author), Gethin Jones (Brit TV actor Blue Peter/Dr Who), Dan Hipgrave (indie-band Toploader guitarist), Nicholas Parsons (Benny Hill regular), Arlene Phillips (choreographer/"Strictly Come Dancing" judge), Esther Rantzen (journalist/TV personality "That's Life"), Tamer Hassan (actor "Batman Begins"), Natasha Kaplinsky (BBC newsreader/"Strickly Come Dancing" judge), Tamara Ecclestone (model), Kirsten O'Brien (Brit TV personality), Alfie Owen-Allen (actor "Elizabeth"/singer Lily Allen's brother), Don Warrington (Brit TV actor "Rising Damp"), David Van Day (Brit reality show personality), Karen Hardy (ballroom dancing World Champion), Jeremy Edwards (Brit TV actor), Penny Smith (Brit TV personality) and Gabby Logan (Brit Sport TV personality).

Naomi Harris

A veritable who's who (who?) of British celebrity.

LONDON 06FEB09: "a little alehouse on bankside" - We had dinner the other night at a quaint little pub in the Borough, called The Anchor. This pub has a lot in common with many other pubs in London... it reeks of history!

Shakespeare was known to drop in for a pint now and again (his Globe Theatre was just a short walk away), and Samuel Pepys took refuge in The Anchor ("a little alehouse on bankside") while witnessing the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Apparently, Tom Cruise drinks a pint outside this pub in 'Mission Impossible'.

Today we had lunch at an early 19th Century pub called The Shakespeare, near Victoria Station. Dog fights used to be held in the cellar, and visitors and employees frequently see the ghost of a woman roaming the premises.

While on the topic of pubs... I would like to take the opportunity to list the British beers I have been enjoying here in the UK (in no particular order): Fuller's London Pride, The Bishops Finger Kentish Strong Ale and Spitfire Kentish Ale from Shepherd Neame, Theakston's Old Peculiar, Morland Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA, John Smith's Bitter Ale, Timothy Taylor Ale, Abbott Ale, Badger Original, Fursty Ferret, Golden Glory, Golden Champion & Tanglefoot, Marston's Pedigree, Newcastle Brown Ale, Young's Bitter, Boddingtons Draught Bitter, Murphy's Irish Stout, Wells Bombardier, Titanic White Star, Black Sheep Ale, Mann's Brown Ale, Wood's Shropshire Lad Spring Bitter, Thwaites Lancaster Bomber, Historic Royal Palaces Real Ale and Guinness Original.

LONDON 06FEB09: Standing Room Only! - Today, Judy, Tessa and I spent the afternoon at Westminster Abbey... the whole gang was there, everyone from Kings & Queens (Edward I, III, V, VI, Richard II, Henry III, V, VII, James I, Charles II, William III, George II, Anne, Bloody Mary, Mary II, Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots) to politicians & heroes (Disraeli, Gladstone, Wolfe) to musicians & actors (Haendel, Olivier) to writers & poets (Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Tennyson, Robert Browning, Kipling, Hardy)... and these are just some of the names I recognized... the place is jam-packed with the bones of the English rich and famous!

Cousin Judy returns to Canada tomorrow after a busy week of visiting and sight-seeing. All the must-sees were pretty much covered... Tower of London, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, St Paul's Cathedral, Quidam at the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, the Borough Market, Westminster Abbey and much, much more.

Smart girl... she took the bus tour AND the Thames boat tour.

LONDON 02FEB09: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow - Cousin Judy Foran has arrived, and brought some Canadian winter along with her! London awoke this morning under a thick blanket of snow, the heaviest snowfall in 18 years. The city is at a standstill... no buses, tube, trains, and airports, schools and offices closed. The London urchins are out in force, however, enjoying their winter wonderland.

We wonder what will come of our plans for the day... a tour of the 3D labs at Pinewood Studios, where the special effects for such well-known films as the Lord Of The Ring and Harry Potter series were created.

(Update: The studio was closed down for the day... no tour.)

LONDON 27JAN09: English & Indian - We had lunch at The Horniman At Hays... and the rule of the day was that everyone had to order something typically English. We must have hit the place on an off day, because it has the reputation for being the worst pub in London... and it wasn't at all bad.

The Toad in the Hole was different from what we expected to see... a square plate-sized Yorkshire Pudding shell with a coiled sausage sitting in the middle of it, looking exactly like a dog had just done its business. Apparently it tasted fine... Debbie, Tessa and Robert finished theirs off with no trouble. The Bangers and Mash I washed down with a barely-chilled Timothy Taylor Ale was enjoyable, and we certainly heard no complaints from Bobby, who had the Steak and Timothy Taylor Ale Pie.

Dinner was Indian food at one of several dozen restaurants that cram the historic Brick Lane in Whitechapel. Barkers pleaded to us outside every restaurant we passed as we tried to decide which one to eat at... we were offered amazing discounts, free rounds of drinks and each told of the many culinary awards bestowed on their particular establishment.

We finally settled on one at the urging of a modest barker, with only one round of free drinks to sway us. When asked what the house specialty was, he answered "the food". In the end, the Kingfisher and Cobra beers were well-chilled, the naan came freshly-baked from the "authentic" tandori oven, the chicken was buttery and whatever the dish was Bobby and I ordered brought on a sweat... very good, very good!

LONDON 25JAN09: The Queen's Box - We ordered tickets for Debbie, Tim and the gang to see Quidam at the Royal Albert Hall, and we were initially told that they could get the box immediately above the Queen's box, which is on permanent reserve for the Queen. Then we were told that we might be able to get tickets for right in the Queen's box itself... THAT was pretty exciting! In the end, they enjoyed the show from very good seats two boxes to the left of the Queen's box.

LONDON 24JAN09: Debbie, Tim & co - We bade farewell to Derek last weekend (he got in one more West End show with Tessa - Zorro!), and hello to my sister Debbie, her husband Tim, and their two grown kids Bobby and Chelsea. Also along for the ride is Bobby's good friend and partner in crime, Robert.

They have been fairly self-reliant in their outings... they have 7-day passes for the underground, so they can come and go as they please. They are also making good use of "The London Pass" which gets them into numerous sights free or at a discounted price.

Yesterday was a typical day... started off at Abbey Road for a family photo at the famous cross-walk, then Bob & Robert split to tour the Tower of London, while Debbie, Tim, Chelsea and I headed off to Buckingham Palace, a walk through Kensington Gardens where we saw some Great Tits (they're cute little birds... oh behave!) the Royal Horse Guards, 10 Downing Street. We stopped at The Red Lion for a pint, then headed over to Westminster, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We had lunch at St Stephen's Tavern, then Debbie, Tim & Chelsea went off on their own to take a spin on the London Eye.

We re-grouped back at the apartment for a late supper, and after some tom-foolery with fiddles and diabolos, that day was done.

Other outings have included Wimbledon, Hampton Court Palace, Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hinde, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the Prison Museum on Clink Street (which created the phrase "thrown in the clink!"), The Borough Market, shopping at Harrods, High Tea at Kensington Palace's The Orangery, the London Dungeon and We Will Rock You, a West End show featuring the music of Queen.

And they're not done yet!

LONDON 19JAN09: Fiddle Family Ties - We met a lovely couple for the first time at Saturday afternoon's performance of Quidam, a couple so comfortable to be with that we felt we had known them for many years: Elke Sullivan (Mark's sis!) and her fianc
ESimon, who were lucky enough to receive tickets for the show from mother Emily. What a great gift idea!

We had a wonderful time chatting with them before and after the show... they even got to meet Cory (Sylvester), who had stuck his head around the stage door staircase corner to see what we were up to... "Any friend of the Bangs family is okay by me!".

We hope to get together again with them during our stay in London, and Elke mentioned that she plays piano, so you never know... there might well be an old-time fiddle jam in the forecast!

LONDON 15JAN09: Rowan Atkinson - Sometimes you stumble blindly into a good thing... which was the case with Oliver!

We had made a list of the shows we each wanted to see in London, and Oliver! was not on it. It made it to the top of the list, however, once we discovered Rowan Atkinson was in it. Tessa has become a big fan of the Blackadder series over the past year, and of course both she and Ella are well acquainted with Mr Bean. So on Monday night, we were standing outside the Royal Theatre on Drury Lane with tickets in hand, anxiously looking forward to being entertained, by jove.

We had plenty of time before the show to grab a coffee... we found an establishment around the corner from the theatre called Charles Dickens Coffee House, and thought it to be perfectly apropos (considering the show we were about to see was based on the novel Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens). There was all sorts of Dickens memorabilia inside the coffee house, so I ventured to ask the gent behind the counter what the deal was with all the Dickens stuff.

'He used to live here' Ehe answered dryly.

Only in London...

We were soon back at the theatre for two plus hours of top notch entertainment... we enjoyed the show immensely. Rowan Atkinson was hilarious, and the kid playing the artful dodger was simply amazing... 'Consida yoursewf - at howm...' Elt;

After the show, we waited at the stage door with a crowd of about 20 people, and eventually Rowan showed up to patiently sign autographs and pose for photos. What a night!

What we didn't realize at the time is that the show we attended was a preview show. Oliver! has since had its opening night, and it is a smash hit, completely sold old for weeks!

If we hadn't gone when we did, we would probably not have been able to get tickets, and surely would not have had the opportunity to meet him in person, which would have been a shame... 'e wuz a reow gen'oman, 'e wuz.

LONDON 15JAN09: Derek's first half-week - Derek arrived Saturday, and has had a full half-week absorbing the sights around Londontown... the secrets of the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, the original Hard Rock Cafe, Abbey Road Studio, Quidam at the Royal Albert Hall (sitting front and centre at the sound console with Head Sound Technician... thanks Peter!), Piccadilly, the Museum of Natural History (Darwin Exhibit), the Science Museum, and a multitude of West End shows - Grease, Hairspray, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap and Oliver!

Today he is off seeing a full-scale replica of Sir Francis Drakes ship Golden Hinde, and Shakespeares Globe Theatre, just around the corner from our apartment... and tonight he will retrace the steps of Jack the Ripper in Whitechapel!

LONDON 08JAN09: Billy Elliot - The day after premiere was quiet, a day for sleeping in, working on our Christmas puzzle and general poking about. We headed out in the late afternoon, however, to pick up Tessa's laptop, which was in the shop getting a new screen (the old one got damaged in transit from Belgium) and maybe catch a movie.

We were already outside a cinema in Leicester Square before it dawned on us - we are in London, a few blocks from the theatre district... why not take in another play!

So we did. Billy Elliot.

It was great.. powerful imagery, impressive stage automation, passionate no-holds-barred dialogue and an extremely talented singing-dancing-acting kid in the lead.

Some truly imaginative moments... the second half opens with two characters talking directly with the audience, who have inadvertently become part of the cast, playing the role of the audience attending the local Christmas pageant!

Another must-see...

LONDON 07JAN09: Ella's London Premiere - Ella performed last night in Quidam's premiere at the Royal Albert Hall (pronounced "hole" by the locals). It was actually her second performance at the Royal Albert (RAH)... full dress rehearsal (media attended) was on the 3rd of January. I was fortunate enough to play that show as well. I have since been put back on the bench (a story for the "tell-all" version).

Ella did another terrific job and really milked the hall's superb acoustics to her full advantage. We heard through the after-show buzz that one gentleman (a well-respected conductor from a London orchestra) commented that Ella's voice is "amazingly haunting".

We were told by a reliable RAH source that there was a good chance the Queen would have attended the premiere... had someone from Cirque bothered to invite her! Plan B is in the works...

There were cocktails after the show in the VIP lounge at the hall, and then we partied it up at a rooftop London discotheque. Lauree, Tessa & Ella cut grooves the dance floor looking fabulously chic in outfits they purchased specifically for the occasion.

I have to make special mention that Tessa has become a very nice dancer... an absolute pleasure to watch. Without prejudice, I would say she was among the best on the floor.

01JAN09: Another New Year - This New Year's Eve did not involve climbing an extinct volcano alongside its smoking twin. During the day, Tessa and Ella had school and Lauree worked. Like any self-respecting musician on New Year's Eve, I played in the early part of the evening, but in the form of a two hour sound check at the Royal Albert Hall.

At the stroke of midnight, however, we were standing together in the middle of the Tower Bridge with a thousand Britons (and not a few tourists), hoping to catch a glimpse of the stupendous fireworks display up-river at Westminster Bridge. We didn't see much... only ten minutes of wildly-flickering sky behind the massive building complexes that blocked our view. Our fellow revelers did not seem to mind, however, releasing balloons, throwing confetti & rose petals, cheering, drinking champagne from the bottle.

We returned to our apartment building and made an appearance at the impromptu penthouse party where some of our colleagues were seeing in the new year. It turns out that they had had a wonderful view of the fireworks.

Oh well, these things happen... Happy New Year!

LONDON 26DEC08: Wicked! - One of the gifts Santa left under the tree was four tickets to see the musical Wicked at the Apollo Theatre. Lauree charted out a course for getting there on foot, and in late afternoon, off we went.

We crossed London Bridge, continued past St Paul's, walked down Fleet Street and in under an hour, we were at Trafalgar Square. We then took a short detour to check out Oxford Street, popular for shopping. Everything was going exactly as planned when we arrived at the Apollo with an hour to spare. Strangely enough, the theater was advertising a musical called Well rather than Wicked. A nervous enquiry confirmed that we were at the wrong theatre... we wanted the Apollo Victoria, on the far side of St James' Park!

No worries... we took the 38 bus past Piccadilly Circus to Victoria Station and arrived in plenty of time.

Our walk home started with twenty minutes of walking around in circles, but we were soon on track, passing by Westminster Cathedral, Big Ben at the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye before crossing over the Thames on the Westminster Bridge. Forty five minutes later we were home-sweet-home.

Oh yes - Wicked was great... very entertaining!

LONDON 25DEC08: Merry Christmas! - We are spending a quiet, simple day in our new London home... Lauree has cooked a turkey with all the trimmings, Tessa & Ella are pre-occupied with new books, puzzles, etc., and I am finally doing catch-up on our blog.

We are happy, healthy and hopeful for another great year ahead. We wish we could give such a gift to all our dear family and friends.

LONDON 24DEC08: First impressions of Londontown - Fantastic... simply fantastic!

Even on the bus from Heathrow to our apartment, it was Buckingham Palace here, Big Ben over there, the London Eye beyond that, St Paul's Cathedral, the Borough Market, London Bridge, the Tower Bridge... and all within a half hour's walk from our apartment, in a Victorian building that once housed a brewery.

And every one speaks English, albeit with a strong British accent! We are not accustomed to this, being able to communicate in English with house-keepers, repairmen, grocery store clerks, etc. We have also discovered that we need to be a little more discreet with our off-the-cuff commentary of passers-by in the street and other public places, something we were not so concerned about in the Spanish-speaking countries we have toured in! Comments like "Uh-oh, fashion faux-pas!" or "That fellow has really big ears!".

Another concern, quickly learned... traffic travels in the opposite direction here. At every intersection, it is written on the road "Look Right" or "Look Left" accordingly. And it is amazing how much one relies on automatic behaviour when looking out for oncoming cars. For example, I wanted to snap a picture best taken out in the middle of the road... I automatically looked to my left, no cars coming, walked out into the street, and then, just as I was framing the shot, noticed that traffic had ground to a halt on my right... all because of some lunatic tourist with a camera (me!).

Last night, Christmas Eve, we went to an incredible midnight service at St Paul's Cathedral (where Charles & Diana married)... the organist was a musical-maniac, serving out complicated Bach cantata's like finger food, and the choir (boys & men only) filled the vaulted ceilings and the dome with a heavenly chorus unmatched with anything I have ever heard at a church service. The Bishop and all the deacons spoke with deep sonorous British voices (just like Aslan - CS Lewis)... you couldn't help but believe every word that came out of their mouth! Such drama and theatrics... sensational!

BRUSSELS 22DEC08: Our last days are spent... - Brian drove us back to Brussels on Wednesday... we dropped Ella off at school, Lauree headed off to work, and Brian, Tessa & I paid a visit to the Royal Military Museum, walking distance from our apartment. Brian was evidently very impressed with the place, the aircraft, and the First World War tanks. We were happy to be able to come along and benefit from his knowledge of the century's-worth of airplanes exhibited there.

Through the week, we managed to get downtown a couple more times... to enjoy the Weihnachtmarkt, the light show at the Grote Markt and get one last look at the amazing carousels. We took a ride on the giant ferris wheel for an interesting bird's eye view of the Weihnachtmarkt. We also managed to check out the Atomium, a must-see recommended by our Brussel's friend Dieter.

Then it was luggage day, our final show, and next thing we knew, we were on the plane to London England.

BRUSSELS 15DEC08: Double Dark in Germany - On Day One of our double dark, we took the one-and-a-half-hour train ride into Germany, where we met up with cousin Brian in Aachen.

Aachen is famous for being the city of Charlemagne, King of the Franks. We saw all things Charlemagne, from the brass seals embedded in the sidewalks throughout the city, to his jewel- studded royal regalia to his marble burial crypt to his final resting place in the Kaiserdom, Aachen's medieval cathedral. All very interesting.

We strolled Aachen Weihnachtmarkt, bought enough printen (Aachen's famous gingerbread) to get us through Christmas, drank gluhwein & chocolat chaud, stuffed ourselves with frits au pommes & bavarian sausage dogs, and enjoyed life.

Next stop was a step back in time to Monschau, a picture-book German town with an impressive hilltop castle and valley full of half-timbered houses and narrow streets that have remained virtually unchanged for 300 years. It is exactly how we imagined Germany would look... we almost expected Heidi herself to walk around the corner! The highlight of main street (for us) was a small shop that sells a dozen-plus varieties of home-made mustard in clay jars.

Back to Brian's place near Geilenkirchen, where friends were already waiting to prepare a birthday surprise for Gerry (Macumber). In anticipation of our visit, she had led a work crew of friends to give Brian's bachelor pad a complete make-over... tidying, tossing, even painting and hanging drapes! What a terrific job they did... it really did feel like a home (something we did not realize we had been missing for some time). Anyway, after all that hard work, Gerry certainly deserved some recognition, which took the form of a party dedicated to her birthday!

We spent the evening in this wonderful company... and we couldn't have asked for a better time. There is something special about Canadians...

Day Two started with a visit to the NATO store, where we loaded up with supplies from home... twizzlers (red & black), chocolate bars (peanut-butter cups, coffee crisp) KD, Quacker Instant Porridge, PC Pancake Mix, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (which is crazy... we have found this everywhere we have been, under different names... Zucaritas, Frosties), Ritz Crackers...

We were happy that Marlene (Shillingford) was able to accompany us on our day's outing... she is a very nice young woman who happens to have a Canadian Snowbirds connection (not the Florida variety). She was the first female crew chief to work with the Snowbirds... way to go Marlene!

We then headed off to Cologne (or Koln as it is known in German).

Koln was all about the massive Gothic cathedral (largest in Europe) and the Weihnachtmarkts, several of them, all equally interesting, and each with its own customized gluhwein mug (forget the styrofoam!). We walked & browsed the market craft stalls, nursing our gluhwein and enjoying local favourites - the piping-hot mushrooms in sour-cream were amazing... even Tessa & Ella couldn't get enough! Tessa snapped dozens of pictures of the trolls that dotted the stall-tops in one of the markets... and we got to watch a medieval play acted out in the medieval market, complete with blacksmiths, wicker-weavers, gothic fabrics and more gluhwein.

By the time we boarded the train back to Geilenkirchen, we were all worn out. Tessa & Ella barely had the energy to split the Big Mac Marlene had been craving all day (but they managed!).

BRUSSELS 12DEC08: And the drummer is... where? - I should not be telling you this...

Tonight, during the intermission of my 55th show drumming for Quidam, I was doing double duty, finalizing the desktop publishing of the Quidam tourbook for London with Lauree in her office.

"Oh my god, what time is it?"

"Oh-oh," replied Lauree, "It's already after nine!"

As I raced through the yard to the artistic tent, I could hear that the show had already started up again. The artistic tent was shockingly deserted - all the artists were back on stage... I dashed in the dressing room, grabbed my stage jacket and ran like a bat out of hell into the darkness of the backstage area where someone was directing me to the drum booth with a flash light (bless you whoever you were). I climbed into the drum booth, threw on the headphones, grabbed my drum sticks and almost immediately began playing, just in time for my cue, a dramatic drum fill.

I played out the remainder of the show annoyed with myself. No one mentioned anything about it on the talk-back but they must have felt that I had almost let them down.

After the show, I felt compelled to approach the band leader, good buddy Jim, and apologize.

"Hey Jim, I hope you didn't hold up the second half on my account."

"Whaddya mean?"

"You knew I wasn't in the drum booth, right?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well, I wasn't... but, forget that I even mentioned it."

Lesson learned.

BRUSSELS 10DEC08: Quidam Christmas Party 2008 - The party this year was, in some people's minds, the best ever. It was held at the Belgian Centre of Comic Strip Art, a comic strip museum located in the beautiful turn of the century Waucquez Warehouses, considered to be one of the masterpieces of the famous Belgian Art Nouveau architect, Victor Horta.

We were free to roam the gallery, which is filled with hundreds of inked comic strip panels featuring the work of a century of mainly European comic strip artists. Belgium's most famous contribution to comic strip art is, of course, Tintin, by Herge. The works represents nearly every genre of comic strip art, from classic to contemporary, from fantasy to satire, from mainstream to the erotic.

The venue was fabulous, the food was delicious (the waffles for dessert were exquisite) and then Santa showed up with presents for all the children. What more could anyone want? Forty-ouncers of vodka on every table?

BRUSSELS 08DEC08: A Very Special Christmas Jam - I am happy to say that our Christmas Jam at O'Farrell's was a total success.

The jam had a bit of a late start. After the second show Sunday, the entire community was invited to a film preview in the kitchen at site... the kids at Quidam school put together a half-hour film about protecting the environment... an important message, with lots of laughs thrown in for good measure. Well done kids!

By the time we arrived at O'Farrell's, around 11:00 pm, the place was already packed with people... artists, technicians, cirquadors, school kids, parents and others. The core group of musicians included Jim, Sibastien, Steve Sharpe, the girls & I, along with special guests Attila Simon (Quidam's new violinist), Hilde Van Reeth (Waredrobe/bodhran), Stephen Scharmin (usher/percussion) and two Russian musician friends of Sergei's, on accordian and on contra bass balalaika. Lisa Ragatz (wife of juggler Steve) kindly led the sing-along, doing a great job controlling the "Quidam Chaotic Choir".

The school kids opened the program by performing Angels We Have Heard On High on their violins, led by Sibastien. Sibastien's wife Milanie then joined her husband for a couple of French carols on violin. We then kept the house hopping, running through carol after carol, with our audience gaily singing along. The highlight for me was The 12 days of Christmas, with Lisa swaying her fingers up in the air to indicate what verse we were at in the song... what a hoot!

At one point, new violinist Atilla and Sibastien teamed up to treat us with sizzling performance of Csardaz. Among the special guests who performed during the evening - Cristian Zabala (Target) delivered a touching rendition of Dona Nobis Pacem on violin with T&E, and Patrick Burke (sound-tech) performed his signature swan-song I Will Survive with Sibastien Thiriault (guitarist), along with a frenzied impromtu performance of that perennial holiday favourite, Killing In The Name Of, by Rage Against The Machine.

Everyone had a great time... the only dark cloud was that Sasha Pestov had arranged to do a photo shot after the jam, but the mob kept the jam going and going and going, until it was too late for the shoot. My sincerest apologies to Sasha and everyone who put in the time and effort for nought.

02DEC08 BRUSSELS: Bob & Lauree's Big Night Out! - Last night, Lauree's workmate and friend Brigitte offered to take Tessa & Ella overnight for a slumber party. The kids were naturally excited about their evening away from us (for a change), but also strangely excited about the evening Lauree and I would spend together (I was instructed to "be fun" by both of them!).

So, we dropped the girls off and off we went on our own to the Weihnachtsmarkt, where I committed myself to being fun.

I have to say, the Grote Markt was something to see, the square all glittered up, the enormous 30 foot Christmas tree (a once-living spruce) lit to the nines, the centuries-old buildings soaked in whirling, coloured patterns of light, like the dance floor of a disco. Lauree kept us well-fortified with gluwein... pretty good stuff to take off the chill of the night! We bought some freshly-roasted honey-glazed peanuts (still warm) to munch on, then some ginger-breads. Food is sooo good here! Also set up for the festive season is a skating rink, and two carousels... one particularly bizarre one with all kinds of weird, wonderful working contraptions on it, like something out of "a series of unfortunate events" (or Tim Burton film - Steve Ragatz). I would have been more than pleased as punch to ride on any one of the fantastic choices... a giant locust, a pterodactyl skeleton, a stuffed ostrich, a flying machine, inside a bull fiddle while a mechanical bowing arm saws away at the strings... I plan to bring the girls to see it and take pictures! We also saw an ice sculpture that reminded us of being at home in Ottawa during Winterlude. It was just a misshapen lump... all the fine features had melted away beyond recognition!

We wandered around, then made our way to Delirium for a pint of Grimberger. Outside the Delirium is the female equivalent of the Mannekin-Pis... the squatting Jeanneke-Pis, which oddly enough is caged off behind a set of rusty old bars (I guess this is what happens to "naughty" Belgian girls!). The Mannekin-Pis, meanwhile, is proudly doing his thing all decked out in some kind of festive little suit!

We came back to the Leopold Quarter for dinner at an Italian restaurant. We had heard the service was not great but the food was good... well, even the food was not that good. By chance, jack-of-all-trades-technician Luc and promo-girl MJ were there at the restaurant too, so we arranged to meet up later at a live jazz club a few blocks away. By the time we arrived though, MJ had flown, but we did enjoy a couple of Maes listening to very-decently played Miles Davis and John Coltrane covers... gave me a hankering to play, like in the old days jazz-gigging with Pete & (Steve/Tom/Martin/???)

Finally our big night out drew to an end... we were all funned out!

30NOV08 BRUSSELS: Wait, there's more... - Then on Sunday, cousin Brian brought 150 of his Canadian Armed Forces friends from Germany to see Quidam in Brussels. Ella performed, I drummed and there was a special Q&A session in the big top after the show. It was there that we met up with a former acquaintance from Forest Valley Day Care, Karen Hunt. It brought back some fond memories of our time with that after-school care facility - Rob, Cynthia, Hermina, Joey... ah yes, those were fun times. Hey you, how are you all doing?!!!

Well, now the bar has been set. Wellington Ward Day Care, who are you going to send over to visit with us?

BRUSSELS 29NOV08: New friends are made! - Cousin Brian came to visit with a dozen of his friends from Germany; Bob & Gerry (Macumber), Bill & Terri with daughter Aysia, Petra (Cohnen), Marlene (Shillingford), Barry & Nathalie (Wright) with daughters Genevieve & Gabrielle, and Mike Constantineau & Sylvie Roy with kids Jessica & Dylan. All fellow Canadians (more or less) associated in some capacity with the Canadian Forces in Germany, they came to us bearing many wonderful gifts, including flowers, Canadian maple syrup, Kraft peanut butter, Kraft (macaroni & cheese) Dinner, Oreo cookies, Lifesavers, Fruit Roll-ups, AFNorth Lions sweat pants for the girls (thanks Aysia!), Crown Royal Canadian Whisky... and enough wine and beer to keep several kitchen parties raging until dawn! Brian brought a large case of fabulous Czech lager called Budweiser Budvar... it's now on the top ten favourite list!

They all came to site, ate dinner in the kitchen with the artists, watched the show (Ella performed... me too!), came backstage to the artistic tent, met a few artists and took a few pictures. Artist Cory Sylvester was nice enough to give a number of them a spin on the German wheel... several even managed to hang in for a 360 degree rotation!

Then some had to leave for home (for various Saturday morning lessons/practices - how well we know!). Bob, Gerry, Bill, Terri, Aysia, Petra, Marlene & Brian came back to our apartment for a few hours of good food, good drink and great conversation (with a few laughs, of course!). We could easily see why Brian placed so much value in his friendship with these wonderful people.

After Saturday morning breakfast at Tout Bon, the bunch headed down to the Brussels Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) with Lauree (Ella & Tessa had school, and I did the show)... booths set up in and about the Grote Markt selling all kinds of wonderful craft works, meats, cheeses and Christmas stuff. It is the custom, (Lauree tells me), to sip on a hot cup of Gl
Ewein (mulled wine) while you meander through the market, which they wholeheartedly did... several cups, actually. They eventualy ended up at the Delirium for (several?) pints of beer.

Lauree thoroughly enjoyed the time they spent together... so much so that plans are now underfoot to visit them all in Germany in a few weeks time! Yahoo!

BRUSSELS 26NOV08: Bob and the girls running loose in Amsterdam! - Lauree was up and out by 5:something to catch her train. She arrived at the central train station, where it was announced that the 6:00 train to Brussels would be leaving from a different station... Lauree and a number of other passengers were at a loss as to what to do! They were trying to figure out how to get to the other station when a man who had earlier overheard their plight came running up saying "The Brussels train is leaving this station in five minutes from Gate 13a!" Dashing through the train station, they made it to the gate, just in time... moments later the train had pulled out. Who knows what the previous message was all about!

The rest of us checked out of the hotel around 9:30... the girls were in charge of reading the map. I promised them that we could lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe IF they could get us there. First stop, however, was the Rijksmuseum, which they did a great job finding.

We spent a good hour at the Rijksmuseum, full of Van Dyks, Rembrandts, Vermeers... all the Dutch masters. In fact, I swear one painting we saw there was straight from the Dutch Masters cigar box! We were genuinely impressed with the work of Rembrandt (including several self-portraits) and Vermeer (including his "Milkmaid"). There were many well-known paintings at the museum, and I was sorely tempted to take some photographs, but that was strictly verbotten. Rembrandt's most famous painting, "The Night Watch" hung in the very last room of the museum. It was my last chance, so I politely asked the security guard for permission to snap a quick photo. "No photo!". Ella insists it was her dramatic look of extreme disappointment that caused the guard to beckon me over. "Okay, take one photo, but don't let anyone see you, especially the security guard by the door!" I took a discreet photo, up from below, around waist-level. I looked over to the guard - he was motioning for me to take a photo from eye level! I snapped another at eye-level, then glanced back at the guard at the door, who, of course, noticed me taking the second photo!

Vermeer's "Milkmaid" (1658-1660)

"Okay, let's go girls!", and out we went, avoiding the annoyed doorman's glare as we hurried by him. Check out the eye-level photo in the photo gallery... I should also mention that another popular exhibit at the museum is a diamond encrusted platinum skull designed by Damien Hirst...

Lunch was at the Hard Rock... the girls managed to get us there.

Then off to catch the 3:00 train, and back to Brussels... where three hours later Lauree was waiting for us at the metro station with an urgent verbal message for me... "YOU'RE DOING THE SHOW TONIGHT!"

I really must learn to check my phone messages!

BRUSSELS 25NOV08: Amsterdam in two days (more or less) - We had Monday and Tuesday off (or so we thought!), so we made plans to go to Amsterdam, two and a half hours away by train.

We arrived and immediately took a one-hour boat tour of the city, down its centuries-old extensive canal system, a good way to get the "lay of the land", so to speak. We were very impressed with the neighbourhoods of 17th Century warehouses and homes lining both sides of every canal we went down... the city as Rembrandt and Vermeer knew it (and everyone since).

After our tour, we had a more-than-satisfying lunch of tomato soup and ham & cheese sandwiches at an ordinary corner shop. The food we have had in Northern Europe (Brussels, Paris, Bruge, Amsterdam, Diksmuide, anywhere... makes no difference!)) has been absolutely fantastic, fresh and flavourful.

We wandered around until we found ourselves at our day's must-see - the Anne Frank Museum, adjacent to the Frank's jam factory/warehouse where she and her family were hidden from the Nazis during the Second World War. The museum was simple but excellent, and the tour of the warehouse really hit home the fear and frustration the doomed family would have felt being prisoners in their own home.

Walking the streets of Amsterdam was an interesting experience... Tessa & Ella will not have any trouble recognizing the smell of dope from now on! Cafes and shops itemize their selection of dope and magic mushrooms in the front window, like a menu at a fancy restaurant. And then the Red Light District... rows of young women in Frederick's of Hollywood wear posed behind their neon-framed full-frontal pane of glass, some pre-occupied behind a closed curtain.

We headed to our accommodations around 5:30... it was already starting to get dark. We checked in, then went out for dinner at a nearby Indonesian restaurant (Amsterdam-native and Quidam chef Pim recommended we go Indonesian while we were here). We finished our evening off with a nightcap at a cozy corner bar, then went back to our hotel room and called it an early night... Lauree had to get up at 5:00 the next morning to make it back to Brussels in time for a pre-scheduled meeting she had remembered about.

BRUSSELS 23NOV08: A not-so-normal day in the life! - It was crazy today in Brussels... I should have read the signs when I got on the metro to go and pick up the kids from school!

There were a dozen or so hot-house tomatoes rolling around on the floor of the metro car. At some point, a woman came over, placed a plastic grocery bag on the floor, and began to collect up the tomatoes and put them in the bag. She had just about filled the bag, and then stood up with it in her hand... the stubborn tomatoes remained in a pile on the floor, because her plastic grocery bag had a huge hole in the bottom of it. She then tried holding the hole closed, but the tomatoes she put in kept rolling out from all sides of the bag... and the momentum of the metro did not help matters. It was an exercise in futility!

Also, it snowed today in Brussels... the city was a mess! The tram I transferred to got about half way to where I needed to get off, then stopped dead in traffic. A bus had become stuck, or broken down or something on the tram track ahead. After sitting here about 15 minutes, the tram backed up for three blocks, and then the driver instructed all the passengers to transfer over to a tram waiting on the opposite-direction track. We did so, and then proceeded on our journey, with this tram driving on the opposite-direction track into on-coming traffic. Fortunately, the on-coming car drivers seemed to know enough to get out of the way, and I finally made it to my stop near the Cirque Du Soleil site.

Meanwhile at site, everyone was pumped because of the snow, and an enormous snow ball fight had taken place... artists, school kids, administrators, ushers, technicians, all battling each other in a free for all! One of the artists, Australian Ronnie, had never experienced snow before... she marvelled at its texture and learned first hand what is meant by the snowball effect, when the kids showed her how to roll a tiny snowball to make a snowman! It was all fun and games until one of the technicians (Eduardo) fell from the top of a tent he was clearing snow off of (Lauree had to take him to the hospital to get checked over, but he is okay!).

All the excitement was over by the time I arrived... and it turned out I was not able to bring the kids back home as originally intended. Daniel the drummer was out of commission again with his mystery arm affliction, so I got to fill in for him and perform the Sunday night show!

A crazy day indeed!

DID YOU KNOW?: Instead of using sugar cane, Europe refines its sugar from the sugar beet! We saw heaps of them piled high in farmers fields during our tour of Flanders.

BRUSSELS 19NOV08: In Bruges - A film called "In Bruges" was released recently with Colin Farrell in the lead role; well, over the past couple of days, we too were "In Bruges.

Bruges (or Brugge, as it appears to call itself) is a lovely little Flemish city one hour from Brussels by train. Picturesque, plenty of sights, great boutiques, lace shops, pubs and restaurants, and enough chocolate & candy shops to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Bruges is very easily explored on foot... and within our first half hour there, we must have walked by most of the famous sights of this medieval canaled city without even being fully aware of it... the Church Of Our Lady (home to Michelangelo's Madonna and Child), the Grote Markt, the 13th Century Belfry, the Burg square, the Sint-Salvator Cathedral, the Beguinage.

Our day's plan, however, was to go on a tour of the Huisbrouwerij de Halve Maan (Half Moon Brewery), the last operating brewery in Bruges, and then later, go to the Chocolate Museum. We did the brewery tour, drank our complimentary glass of Brugse Zot, then set off for the Chocolate Museum, arriving to late to be admitted. We made the decision to sleep over, located a very pleasant Lonely Planet recommended B& B, and arranged a room for the night. We then we went on a horse and buggy tour of the city centre, wrapped in a blanket with hot chocolate and waffles. Then it was dinner, and early to bed.

Twelve hours later, we took a tour of the Chocolate Museum, which was well-worth seeing. It tied in our experiences in Mexico, displaying many Aztec artifacts dealing with chocolate, the food of the gods (especially when mixed with blood!).

Next, we visited the Romanesque 12th Century Church Of Our Lady (Eglise De Notre Dame/Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk) to see Michelangelo's Madonna and Child, known locally as the Madonna of Bruges. It was the only one of Michelangelo's pieces to leave Italy during his lifetime.

Then it was time to leave... Lauree had to work and Ella had a show.

BRUSSELS 11NOV08: The Last Post - We joined up with the crowd at the Menin Gate Memorial, where people had already been assembling two hours before the Remembrance Day evening ceremonies were to begin. We had a pretty good spot, but there was an old European woman beside us who seemed to be continually trying to muscle her way into our space... she reminded me of Estelle Getty (Sophia, from "The Golden Girls").

There was a parade leading to the Memorial... drumlines, veterans, pipers, a marching band, a group of about 20 elderly British women singing a rousing rendition of "Tipperary" (reminded me of our Auntie Faith). Then, we were overcome with a profound sense of pride (to be Canadian) when a contingent of Canadian servicemen marched by, and the multitudes on both sides of the street began applauding in respectful gratitude.

As it happens, one of the marchers lost a poppy... it lay on the cobblestones just a few feet on the other side of the barrier that we were standing at. It was quite nice, different from our Canadian ones, and Ella longed for it. We noticed that the old European woman beside us was interested in it as well... she kept motioning to a security officer standing by to fetch it for her. There was no doubt in our minds that if anyone would get it, she would... aggressive witch! Sure enough, the security officer eventually buckled, came over, picked up the poppy and gave it to the old woman... who immediately offered it to Ella, saying "English? A souvenir for you!". Such a nice lady...

National anthems were sung, including "God Save The Queen" (never before had we heard it song by Brits... quite moving), and "Oh Canada" (we did our best!). Hymns & marches were played, wreaths were laid, and then there was silence, and an emotional rendering of "The Last Post" performed by a couple of buglers from the Ypres Fire Brigade.

We pulled ourselves together over a pint of Belgian Primus and steak & frits (Lauree, Brian & Ella had pasta), at a delightful restaurant overlooking the cobbled square of Ypres' Grand'Place.

It was a Remembrance Day we will never forget.

BRUSSELS 11NOV08: Lest we forget... - We headed out first thing this cold, dark and gray morning for the Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial just outside of the town of Waregem, in the Flanders region of Belgium. It is the only American World War 1 cemetery in Belgium, with around 400 graves.

Our next stop could not have been more timely nor appropriate. At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, we were standing in a cold, drizzling rain at the Essex Farm (dressing station) Cemetery, where Canadian surgeon John McCrae wrote his famous war poem "In Flanders Fields".

Of the 1,199 British graves in the cemetery, only 1,100 are identified. Also buried here is Rifleman Valentine Joe Strudwick, of 8th Battalion The Rifle Brigade, who was aged 15 when he died on 14 January 1916. He is one of the youngest British casualties of the Great War.

Apparently the dressing station, and cemetery was constantly under fire from the German artillery. According to a soldier of the time, Harry Kendall (1st King Edward's Horse - Third Ypres):

"Fritz had a bad habit of sending shells over and ploughing up the graves. For many weeks there was little peace at that end of Essex Farm road - even for the 'glorious' dead. Often a dozen a day ere smothered over with mud from the graves torn by Fritz's exhuming shells ... Possibly the worst phase of this post by number four bridge was the eternal review of dead men before one's tiring eyes. Slaughtered men lying about in all shapes and forms around this unholy post of ours."

Next, Brian brought us to the Ypres Reservoir Cemetery just outside of Ypres, where 2,700 First World War soldiers from all over the Commonwealth are buried - soldiers from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, India... and many more countries. There are also the graves of three men who were "shot at dawn" for being cowards. It is now widely believed that these men would most likely have been suffering from shell shock/battle fatigue, rather than cowardice.

It was humbling to walk among the graves of these brave souls, noting their tragically young ages, reading the short poignant inscriptions on their gravestones, like a personal and intimate whisper from the past... 'A loving son, a brother kind, a beautiful memory left behind', 'To live in the heart we leave behind is not to die', and so, so many 'Known unto God'.

One heart-wrenching gravestone read:

'Thy will be done. Our darling Daddy, gone from our home, but never forgotten'

We then went into Ypres (yet another beautiful Belgian city) to the Cloth Hall Museum, which was jam-packed with people (Remembrance Day!). We crossed it off the itinerary, and headed to our next stop: The Trench Of Death.

Just outside the town of Diksmuide is the Trench Of Death, where regiment after regiment of the Belgian army struggled under unbearably harsh conditions to prevent the German advance toward France. For four long years this sinister trench was the theatre of incessant and murderous combats - artillery and mortar shells, incessant alerts, heavy gunfire, unexpected grenades or sudden attacks. The Belgians and Germans held siege within several yards of each other, separated by a flooded no man's land.

The trenches are situated on the Flemish Polders, approximately 1.5 meters below sea level. Instead of digging to create the trenches, which would have immediately flooded, the Belgians built the trenches up with sandbags and earth. Even our attempts to navigate the trench system were abandoned by flooding from the day's intermittent down-pours.

One macabre feature at the far end of the Belgian trenches is "De Muizenval" (the Mouse Trap). Every so often the Belgians would pull back, luring the Germans into their trench. The Germans would jump into the "trap", where a couple of Belgian snipers, safely sheltered behind a thick concrete wall could simply pick them off through slots in the barrier.

Lunch was interesting, at a family-run three-table tractor stop on the Diksmuide road. Communication was difficult - neither English nor French seemed to make much of an impression with our Flemish-speaking host. We finally stumbled upon something he understood - our old stand-by from Spain, ham & cheese. Within a few moments, lunch was on our table: we were each given a plate with three slices of fresh bread, some lettuce and tomato. Then, on a platter in the center of the table, a dozen-or-so slices of ham and as many slices of gouda cheese. A do-it-yourselfer! But, as you might have guessed, everything was fresh and delicious.

After lunch, we set out for the Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Vladslo (German Soldiers' Cemetery) ) near the village of Vladslo. It is virtually a mass grave, with the remains of more than 25,644 German soldiers buried here. Under a cool canopy in a wooded park are row upon row of flat square grave markers, each one with the names, rank and date of death of twenty soldiers. At the far end of the cemetery, across from the entrance, is a sculpture of a grieving man and woman, called "The Parents", created by the mother of one of the young germans buried in the cemetery.

A short drive brought us to Houthulst Forest Belgium Military Cemetery, and the graves of 1704 Belgian soldiers, a few French soldiers, and several Italian POW, most of whom were killed in 1918 during the final push to liberate Belgium. Sadly, many of the graves were flooded, under 6 inches of water. Evidently,the ground is more or less pure clay with little or no topsoil and water is unable to drain away. During the war, this turned the ground to a porridge-like mush which spread its putrid slime across the polluted landscape, mingling with the gas vapours and corpses to give off a terrible, nauseating stench.

Next, the Langemark German military cemetery, situated to the north of Langemark village. Langemark is a collection cemetery - bodies of german soldiers were exhumed from all over Flanders - Westroosbeke, Passchendaele, Moorslede, Zonnebeke, Poelkapelle, Zillebeke - and re-buried at Langemark, bringing the total number of soldiers buried or commemorated here to 44,234, including 24,917 unidentified German soldiers interred in the Kameraden Grab
Ea 'Comrades Grave'. No wonder they call these cemeteries "Silent Cities".

You must now be feeling like Tessa & Ella were feeling... completely overwhelmed! But only a few more stops to go!

The Canadian Memorial at Vancouver Corners, outside of St Juliaan, with the "Brooding Soldier"... that was next.

Then, the Poelkapelle British Cemetery, where "Their name liveth for evermore" is inscribed in a large block memorial at the front of the grounds. Most of the graves date from the last five months of 1917 and in particular October (the 3rd Battle of Ypres). Of the 7,478 Commonwealth servicemen buried or commemorated here, 6,321 of the burials are unidentified. The Poelkapelle British Cemetery also contains the grave of the youngest soldier to die in Flanders - Private John Condon, 6322, 2nd Royal Irish Regiment, who died on 24th May 1915 at the age of only 14.

We were surprised, and perhaps a little apprehensive when we pulled into a farm yard. Lauree had been asking Brian if the local farmers ever find anything in the fields when plowing or digging for any reason. Brian now indicated that she would find the answer to her question! The farm belonged to people who ran a B&B that Brian has stayed at in the past. With their permission (I suppose), he brought us out back of the buildings where heaps of rusted-out artillery casings, blasting caps, detonators, unexploded shells (rendered-harmless duds), assorted mechanical bits and pieces and twisted scraps of metal covered an area of at least 10 square feet. The 2008 iron harvest. Apparently even to this day, the farmers are dredging up reminders of the Great War from their fields, and bomb disposal events take place on a regular basis. The woman of the farm has even created a museum in one of the barns, with pieces they have cleaned up and made presentable, everything from shells, rifles and a machine gun to cutlery, whistles, and ceramic jugs. It was also here that we encountered something we have expected to see since arriving in Belgium... brussel sprouts!

We then stopped at the Canadian Memorial at Crest Farm, near Passchendaele. Fifteen thousand Canadian men were killed, wounded or reported missing in the fierce fighting at Passchendaele between October and November 1917.

 
Passchendaele before and after...

Night was falling, so we made our last stop at Tyne Cott Cemetery, the largest British military cemetery in the world... and the final resting place for nearly 12,000 soldiers of the commonwealth.

That was it for our two-day Western Front tour (many thanks Brian). It may sound like we covered every "silent city" in Flanders, but we did not... far from it. Riddled throughout the countryside are cemeteries, large (where battles took place) and small (were skirmishes left men dead). It seems that men were often buried where they fell.

Back in Ypres, we stood and waited for the Remembrance Day evening ceremonies to begin...

BRUSSELS 10NOV08: Known unto God - Today was the first of our two-day Great War tour... we were lucky to have as our guide, Lauree's cousin Brian (Burchart). Brian drove in from Germany to show us around the must-see Western Front sites of the First World War.

For our first stop on Day One, Brian drove us all the way to France! Our approximately one-and-a-half hour journey brought us to a serene little cemetery in the Artois region of France called St Symphorian, which contains the graves of 229 Commonwealth servicemen and 284 German soldiers of the First World War. Buried here are John Parr and George Lawrence Price, who are thought to be respectively the first and last Allied soldiers to be killed in action during the First World War. Poor George Lawrence Price, a Canadian lad of 26 years, was killed on November 11, 1918. There are many graves with bodies that could not be identified... their grave markers read simply "Known unto God", or sometimes "An unknown soldier of the Great War". Very sad.

Our next stop was Vimy Ridge. We explored the grounds, and marveled at how even after 90 years, the landscape was still terribly scarred by the barrage of large artillery shells. We walked through the short stretch of allied trenches preserved by the Canadian government. Brian even managed to parley our way into a tour of the underground tunnel system (the case of 24 Labatt's Blue he gifted the staff certainly helped his cause). After a windy walk around the Canadian Memorial, we hopped back into the car and left for the Newfoundland Memorial in Beaumont-Hamel.

The weather provided the perfect ambience for our tour - cold with an off-and-on-again drizzle that chilled us to the bone. The wind was so strong at the Vimy Ridge memorial that I had a difficult time keeping the camera steady when taking photos. We could truly appreciate how miserable it must have been to be living in the trenches, totally exposed to the elements, knowing that every minute could be your last.

The Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel is simple and touching. It is situated on the site where on July 1st, 1916, the opening day of the Battle of the Somme, the 1st Newfoundland Regiment fought its first engagement in France, its costliest of the whole war. Of the tragedy that befell the Newfoundlanders, Private F H Cameron, 1st Kings Own Scottish Borderers is quoted in Martin Middlebrook, The First Day on the Somme, London, 1977, p.189 as saying:

"On came the Newfoundlanders, a great body of men, but the fire intensified and they were wiped out in front of my eyes. I cursed the generals for their useless slaughter, they seemed to have no idea what was going on."

Commenting on their effort, Major-General Sir Beauvoir de Lisle, Commander of the British 29th Division stated:

"It was a magnificent display of trained and disciplined valour, and its assault only failed of success because dead men can advance no further."

Our last stop on our itinerary for this day was at Thiepval. Unfortunately, night was quickly closing in around us, so we were unable to pay our respects at the Ulster Tower, an Irish memorial where, at the end of the first day of the battle of the Somme, more than 5,000 men of the 36th Ulster division were either killed, wounded or missing. Some units were hit especially hard - the 13th Battalion Royal Irish rifles (County Down Volunteers) had lost 595 men, well over half the battalion. According to Philip Orr The Road to the Somme, Belfast, 1987, p.191, one officer described the postbattle roll call:

"Not a few of the men cried and I cried. A hell of an hysterical exhibition it was. It is a very small company now. I took 115 other ranks and 4 officers (including myself) into action. I am the only officer and only 34 other ranks are with me now."

We did stop and walk about the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, which is the biggest British battle memorial in the world. The names of over 72,000 British and South African men who were killed in the battle of the Somme, but have no known grave, are carved into the stone of the massive memorial.

It was now dark, so we drove into the town of Arras to its beautiful and bustling Grand Place, with cobble-stoned square and cookie-cutter buildings, all with gaily-lit facades silhouetted against the night sky. We ate dinner with a surprising relish (not the pickled variety) and reflected on the things we had seen throughout the day.

As we headed home, Brian was kind enough to do a drive-by of the Vimy Ridge Memorial glowing like a specter against the blackened sky. It is a hauntingly beautiful image that will be forever burned into our memory.

BRUSSELS 07NOV08: About Brrr...ussels - It is chilly here this time of year! The girls are not complaining though... they each have a new fall coat, boots and mittens on account of it.

Another thing we have noticed is that Brussels is a very polite society. Drivers actually stop at crosswalks, and urge the pedestrians to cross. The pedestrians do not jaywalk, they obey the traffic signals... and they keep to their own side of the sidewalk. Numerous times I have heard "Merci Monsieur" after holding open a door, or making room so someone can squeeze through on the tram.

It appears that the Brussels police service helps to enforce this politeness... on the back of their jackets is written "Police Politie".

"I am sorry Sir, but you failed to thank your server when she brought you your coffee. I am going to have to write you up on that!"

Polite and conservative... that is what the people of Brussels are. Artists have commented on being on stage and looking out over a wash of darkly-dressed bundled-up people sitting quietly in the stands. It is a huge contrast from the bright and colourful flamboyancy of the expressive Barcelona audience!

Another difference between Barcelona and Brussels... in Barcelona, there were always people strolling around in the streets, talking, laughing, taking their time to get wherever they are going. In Brussels, the people you see walking in the street are very intently going to, or coming home from... WORK.

A very different mindset for sure.

BRUSSELS 04NOV08: Mussels in Brussels - Yesterday we went on a "grub crawl" of Brussels.

We started off at the Tout Bon, a small cafe around the corner from our apartment in the Leopold Quarter, where we enjoyed some really outstanding coffee and hot chocolate. Then, on a small street leading to the Grand'Place, Belgian waffles from The Waffle Hut. Ella and I split a cinnamon sugar waffle (think beavertail!), while Lauree and Tessa went for a strawberry, banana and chocolate-topped masterpiece.

We caught sight of the original (and diminutive) Manneken-Pis enroute to Fritland, supposedly the best place in Brussels for french fries (which apparently originated in Brussels). We had our fill, then headed off for the Gallerie St Hubert for some exquisite Belgian chocolates, which we ate on the steps of the cathedral.

Now that we had worked up an appetite, we went for dinner at Leon's, established 1893, an historic Brussels eatery, where we washed down a bucket of moules et frits with Leon's own brew.

We then further wet our whistles at the Delirium Cafe, whose claim to fame is a selection of more than 2000 varieties of beer... I had an amber Grimbergen (a Belgian abbey beer first brewed in 1128), while Lauree went for a Delirium Tremens, complete with Pink Elephants on the label. We ended our grub crawl with a nightcap at Fabian O'Farrell's, where I had a Stella Artois (Belgian!), and Lauree savoured a cherry-flavoured Kriek. What did the kids have, you ask?

Kids? What kids???

BRUSSELS 03NOV08: Fabian O'Farrell's Jam - We (being Jim, Sebastien, Tessa, Ella & I) jammed last night after the show at Fabian O'Farrell's, a pub in Place Luxembourg, the square around the corner from our apartments. The owner, a Texan named Bo, kindly allowed us to jam there, and several artists, technicians, directors, admin & support folk and cirquadors came out to join the fun! Thanks for that!

We plan to make it a weekly event during our stay here.

See you next week, same time, same place... everyone is welcome!

BRUSSELS 31OCT08: Quidam Masquarade Party - There is not much to say about the premiere party, which had a masquerade theme (in keeping with Hallowe'en). We left at midnight, only an hour after it started... couldn't risk our coach turning into a pumpkin!

PARIS 23OCT08: The City Of Light (Day Two) - After a light breakfast of croissants and expresso coffee, we took the metro to the Louvre... or tried to! We got as far as the station at Champ Elysee, where we had to catch a connecting train. On the platform, a wall of commuters seven rows deep lunged en mass toward every train that stopped. Every over-stuffed train had difficulty leaving the station because the over-flow of frustrated passengers prevented the doors from closing properly! We gave up... and set out on foot. Fortunately, it was a beautiful (but chilly) day, and we were not far from the Louvre (at the Place de la Concorde), so an easy fifteen minute walk soon got us to the front doors of the famous museum.

We left the Louvre, and went straight to the Cathedrale Notre Dame De Paris, where we had to stand in line for half-an-hour before getting to go up into the bell tower. It was well worth the wait. First of all, there are the gargoyles, and secondly, the view! It is amazing how white Paris is! And how large and congested!

We headed through the Latin quarter to the Pantheon, the final resting place of several famous French people. In the crypt, we passed by vaults containing the remains of Louis Braille, Marie Curie, Voltaire and countless politicians. I was personally interested in locating Victor Hugo, and I found him, sharing a small, simple bunker with Alexander Dumas and Emile Zola. It was roped off, but you could still look in... a bit of a let down, though. I was expecting something like the tomb of Christopher Columbus!

We went for fallafels in the Jewish quarter, then walked through many neighbourhoods, some interesting, others not so, until we got to the Phre Lachaise cemetery, established by Napoleon in 1804. Dozens of famous people are buried here, and we only had an hour before closing time (and we did not want to get locked in for the night!). We soon found what we were looking for... the grave of Oscar Wilde, whose tombstone is covered in lip-stick kisses, a gay tradition of late. We also located Jim Morrison's lack-lustre (and caved-in!) grave, wedged in between other larger but less famous head stones. We chanced upon Moliere... we followed some one being led there by a cemetery tour guide-type fellow.

Evening fell, and we headed back downtown for a drink. We found Harry's Bar, where personalities like Ernest Hemingway used to hang out, but the prices were a little steep. We ate right next door, at Le Sherwood, equally famous, no doubt! (I think Hemingway went in to use the bathroom there at least once). We then headed to the Gare Nord train station, grabbed a bite at an eatery across the street, hopped on our train and were back home in Brussels by 11:30 pm.

PARIS 22OCT08: The City Of Light (Day One) - We arrived at Gare Nord in Paris after a short one hour twenty minute ride on a fast non-stopping train. From there, we caught a metro to the neighbourhood of Montmartre, where we spent the better part of the morning.

We found the Eiffel Tower with little difficulty... what an imposing structure, visible from most parts of the city. It is hard to believe that there were plans to tear it down in the years immediately after the World's Fair of 1889, for which it was constructed! We went to the top, took a look around, then set out for more sights on our "must-see" list.

Our next stop was the Arc de Triomphe, a massive structure, much larger than I expected it to be. We then headed down the Avenue des Champs-Elysies, stopping now and then when the attraction of a boutique was too strong for Lauree and the girls to resist. Along the way, we also indulged in some fine pastries at the patisserie Paul, of which we became big fans in Shanghai. We became slightly disoriented in the glut of magnificant buildings at the Place de la Concorde, at end of the avenue. "Well kids, that's the Louvre!", "No, that's the Louvre", when in reality none were the Louvre. Every building looked like a palace to me!

Forging ahead through a park of statues and fountains, we finally found the Louvre, with the huge glass pyramid (of Da Vinci Code fame) at its entrance way. We did not stop long... exploring the Louvre was on our list for first thing tomorrow morning, in order to beat the crowds.

From there, we walked along the tranquil Seine and crossed over the medieval Pont-Neuf bridge to get to our next destination, the gothic Cathidrale Notre Dame de Paris. Our inital plan was to climb the bell tower, but we arrived too late (that experience would have to wait until tomorrow), so instead we rested our weary feet and took in some of the seven o'clock mass.

After a bit, we left the cathedral and set off for our overnight accommodations. We checked into the hotel, and found a delightful French cuisine restaurant where we had a delicious dinner (pasta poulet, filet mignon et potates roti). We went to bed tired, but with full bellies, and thrilled with everything we had seen during the day.

BRUSSELS 21OCT08: Welcome to Brussels! - Arrived in Brussels this Wednesday evening and checked into our apartment, which is on the top floor of a tidy five story apartment hotel block. Hastily packed overnight bags, because first thing tomorrow morning we are heading off to Paris!

BARCELONA 20OCT08: Our last days are spent... - Our last week in Barcelona flew by very quickly. I can hardly recall what we did!

On Wednesday night, the owner of the restaurant La Luna, Robbie Dunne, came with his wife to see Quidam. He is the ex-patriot Irishman who helped us to find a place to eat on our first venture into downtown Barcelona. We had subsequently tried out his restaurant (La Luna), but he was out, so Lauree left her Cirque Du Soleil business card with the bartender, asking him to get Robbie to give her a call.

Apparently, Robbie, who was unfamiliar with Cirque Du Soleil, thought it was just some circus in town, and no big deal. He did not bother calling, and days later when his wife found out about the missed opportunity, she flipped. Fortunately, we went back to the restaurant with Derek, met up with Robbie again, and this time he wasted no time in accepting our invitation to see the show.

So they came out Wednesday night, and, needless to say, he was flabberghasted!

Another big event during the week was a Russian party thrown to celebrate Lauree's friend and co-worker Irina's birthday. A Russian party is a formal drinking event, and the booze of choice this time was the Crown Royal Derek brought for us to give to Irina. A dozen people sat closely around a couple of coffee tables filled with food (Russian salads, chicken, meatballs, sliced fruit, crusty bread sticks, etc), and toasted, drank, munched, chatted, re-poured, toasted, drank, munched, chatted, re-poured, toasted, drank, etc. When it was time to stagger home, we had to have one more for the road... so we re-poured, toasted, drank, munched, chatted, re-poured, toasted, drank... you get the picture. You really have to pace yourself, but we were thrilled to have been part of this private inner-circle celebration.

We ventured downtown a couple more times through the week... what a vibrant and beautiful city. One trip was to our final Irish session at Michael Collins pub. Although we were happy to have had the opportunity to play and learn some new tunes, we never did feel overly welcome by the regulars. It happens...

On Sunday evening, Ella performed in the final show for Barcelona, a show which all the artists agree was something extraordinary. The audience was exceptionally enthusiastic, with thunderous applause after (and sometimes, during) every act. At the end of the show, the cast was called back to the stage three times... the ushers were crying, the audience was crying, applauding, stomping their feet, chanting "Oh-way, oh-way-oh-way-oh-ho..." There was even a continuous wave, side to side, and then front to back and then back to front again! It was extremely emotional, and it was a wonderful way to end the city.

BARCELONA 14OCT08: Ant Wars! - We woke Monday morning to an ant invasion in our apartment. They had established some sort of trade route from our kitchen doorway to an unknown destination - unknown because as soon as Lauree discovered their enterprise, she began a mass antocide, squishing them indiscriminately and shuffling everthing around (shoes, backpacks, recycle), so by the time I arrived at the scene, the ants were in a state of complete disarray, scrambling around in every direction.

By evening, ant activity was focused mainly in the girls' room, even though we could not find anything that could have been of interest to them there - no empty yoghurt containers, spilt juice, food stuffs of any kind - so we figured they would lose interest sooner or later, and left the matter at that.

Bedtime... Lauree was, as usual, the first to hit the sack. She wanted the girls to get a good night sleep, as we planned to spend the better part of the next day wandering around downtown Barcelona, but I had sort of promised them a movie before bed. We compromised on a half-hour television show, and after it was over, we set off for bed. Unfortunately, I stumbled over something in the darkness of the bedroom and woke Lauree from her fresh sleep. Lauree then struggled unsuccessfully to get back to sleep before I dozed off, because, apparently, I snore.

Meanwhile, a battle raged behind the closed door of girls' room. Tessa & Ella were fearful of ants crawling on them while they slept, so, armed (or footed?) with flip-flops, they launched a full-scale attack, busily stomping on scores of ants in their room. However, as soon as they would get rid of one wave of ants, another would appear. They decided to place damp towels around the inside perimeter of the room to block off potential entry points for the ants.

They turned off thier light, opened their door and quietly crept into the bathroom across the hall for towels.

"WHO'S UP?!!!"

They froze in the dark, and remained as silent and motionless as statues for several minutes, to allow Lauree to fall back asleep. They then grabbed some soiled towels and slunk back into their room. They closed their door, and turned on the light.

Suddenly, the door was opened, and Lauree was at them like a hawk... "WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP?!!! IT'S FOUR IN THE MORNING!!!" ...how time flies when you are in the pitch of battle!

They tried to explain, but it all sounded kind of silly. Lauree fumed the girls into their beds. The ant battle would have to be fought another day.

This story was light-heartedly relayed to me the following morning, over breakfast. I had missed it, having snoozed (snored) through the whole episode.

On one final and terrifying note - come morning, Ella discovered an ant in her bed, mere inches from where she lay!

BARCELONA 11OCT08: It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings! - On Derek's last evening in town, I took Derek to see a show called Opera y Flamenco at the Palau de la Musica.

The show was fabulous... a small ensemble (piano, classical guitar, two violins and a cello) along with a traditional flamenco group called El Duende (flamenco guitar, singer (Cantaora), percussionist (Cajon) accompanied a male and female dancer (bailaor y bailaora) and a male and female operatic singer through a variety of numbers loosely assembled to tell the story of a courtship.

Derek was terribly impressed by the virtuosity of the flamenco guitarist, and the allure of the female dancer (duh!). I was in awe of the performance of the size extra-large female singer (the fat lady), who strutted, batted her eyes, played coy and swooned from the vocal attentions of her male counterpart.

We saw Derek off this morning... hasta la vista amigo!

BARCELONA 10OCT08: Derek Jeffrey Barcelona - Sunday afternoon Derek arrived, experienced Quidam from backstage, then came with us to a after-hours "Russian Party" to celebrate Natalia & Sasha's birthday. Derek refused to drink any vodka, despite being taunted and teased by Lauree's Russian friend and co-worker Irina... "You are not beink a man!"

Monday was a visit to Park Guell and the Barri Gotic, After dinner at the Hard Rock, we finished the evening off jamming at our weekly Irish session.

On Tuesday, Lauree brought Derek on a Gaudi tour, with stops at the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo and La Pedrara. They then went down to Port Vell, where Derek was impressed with the Palau de Mar, the 19th Century warehouse now housing the Museu d'Historia de Catalunya. They climbed to the top of the Monument a Colom, the 60 metre high tower built on the site where Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493 to tell King Fernando and Queen Isabella of his discovery of America. After refreshments back at the Placa de Catalunya, Derek came to site and watched Quidam in the big top.

Wednesday... Derek, Tessa and I took a leisurely stroll through the Parc de la Ciutadella, wandered aimlessly through the Barri Gotic, and explored the narrow medieval streets east of La Rambla, culminating (or so we thought) at the oldest church in Barcelona, the Romanesque (and crumbling!) Sant Pau Del Camp, built by the Benedictines in the 10th century. We then set out in a north-easternly direction, thinking we were heading south-west, and became, for a while, hopelessly lost. Even when we finally found our location on the map, we were still completely turned around, and proceeded to head further out of our way. It was Tessa who managed to find her bearings lead us to the nearest metro stop leading to Placa de Catalunya, where we collected our wits over a Subway "Eat Fresh" sandwich.

Thursday, we three were back at it, checking out the Arc de Triomf, the Palau de la Musica and an antiques (interesting junk) market in the square in front of the Catedral Gotic. Then it was back to site for dinner, and Derek watched the show in the Big Top with Tessa, who almost jumped out of her seat when there was a bit of a fumble during Corde Lisse at the same moment in the act which only last week sent one of the girls flying Wallenda-style!

Friday, Derek set out on his own to do the bus tour around Barcelona. Tessa and I caught up with him at Juame I, and headed to the Museu d'Historia de la Ciuat, where we planned to take in the Roman ruins under the Placa Del Rei (the gothic heart of the Barri Gotic). Unfortunately, the museum was no longer on summer hours, and consequently, we arrived too late to see the exhibit. We wandered the Barri Gotic for awhile (always an interesting pastime), then met up with Lauree and Ella at our favourite Barcelona restaurant, La Luna.

Saturday, Derek's last full day in Barcelona, was spent walking the length of the boardwalk from site to the furthest end of La Barceloneta and then back again. Then, dinner on site, and Derek watched Quidam one more time from backstage. And that was it for Derek Jeffrey Barcelona... almost!

BARCELONA 30SEP08: Gaudi's Park Guell - We had a late start on our second day off, but we eventually made our way to Gaudi's magical Park Guell for a walk-about.

The park, situated on a hilltop in Barcelona, is like something from a fairy tale - life-size gingerbread houses, an immense curving bench decorated with colourful bits of ceramic tile surrounding the raised esplanade, a roadway supported by stone palm tree-shaped pillars winding up the hill, the little pink house where Gaudi lived for twenty years, all in perfect harmony with the trees and natural shrubbery of the park. At the top of the park is a stone platform which gives you a wonderful panoramic view of all of Barcelona, spreading out to the mountains to the north, and the sea to the south.

After the park, the girls engaged in a little shopping, and then we went out for dinner at a delightful restaurant in the Barri Gotic called La Luna. This restaurant is owned by the Irish ex-patriot that helped us find a place to eat on our first night into town. The inside of the restaurant was a maze of beautiful old stone arches... it reminded us of the arabic bath house in Sevilla. The decor was invitin... oops, the rest of this entry is LOST!

BIG CHUNK OF BLOG MISSING HERE! - Monterrey, Vera Cruz, Italy, Lisbon, Malaga, Sevilla, Morroco, Gibraltar, Alicante... hope I have it all backed up somewhere!

MONTERREY 23JAN08: Dress Rehearsal - For every city, there is a dress rehearsal performed the night before the premiere. This dress rehearsal is the real thing, though, with a real audience... family and friends of the locals hired to work on site, local sponsor VIP's and local media, newspaper and television.

To our surprise, LAUREE ended up on stage during last night's dress rehearsal! In a sketch known as "Clown Cinema", Toto the Clown brings people from the audience up on stage to act out a scene involving a suiter discovering the love of his life in another man's arms. Toto chose Lauree to play the role of the sexy two-timing love interest. What a hoot!

Tessa and I were chuckling in the audience... Ella, in the role of Zoe, couldn't believe it was happening! Lauree did a pretty good job, once she got over the embarrassment of being the center of attention on stage.

Next it will be Tessa's turn under the spotlight!

MEXICO CITY 19JAN08: Our Last Days are spent - Tomorrow we leave Mexico City and fly to Monterrey, where Lauree has already been for the past four days helping with site set-up. Here is how Tessa, Ella and I have spent our final two days here.Friday we went to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia at Chapultepec Park. This museum, one of several in the park, is a must-see for anyone visiting Mexico City, and for good reason. It is absolutely first-class. A walk through its series of salons is a walk thorugh time, starting with one of mankind's earliest origins, i.e., home erectus. The many miniature models depicting the evolution of mankind, and the evolution of the society of mankind my not impress the creationists, but are meticulous in their marvellous detail. Once the milestone of mankind crossing the Bering Strait is acknowledged, the focus of the displays shift rightly to the ancient civilizations of the Mexican people. There is no shortage of pottery, sculpture, tools, artifacts & objets d'artes for each of the successive cultures that flourished here over the past many thousand years or so. It clearly demonstrates what a people can accomplish in year-round warm weather conditions.

My only disappointment was that I left our camera in my backpack when I mandatorily checked at the entrance; who would have thought that taking photographs would be permitted (I think for a small fee, though). There is a room in behind the massive reproduction of a wall from the Temple of the Feathered Serpent (Teotihuacan) with eight of so full human skeletons, sacrificial victims, presented exactly as they were discovered, side by side, prostrate with hands bound behind their back and adorned with human jawbone necklaces. What an image that is! Come to think of it, there are A LOT of skulls at that museum.

Today, we went back one last time to what I consider my favourite neighbourhood in Mexico City, Coyoacan. Condesa is very, very nice, Polanco very, very ritzy, and I am sure there are several other neighbourhoods around the city we did not have the pleasure to discover, that may well rival r even surpass Coyoacan in one respect or another, but for me, well, it has everything I would ever need to happily live there.

The Plaza Hildigo was once again bustling with carnivl-like activity, balloons, clowns, artisans, musicians, the colourful stalls of vendors... we made a point of seeking out the one-time residence of conquistador Hernan Cortez, a building now converted to municipal offices.We went one last time to an amazing used book store, Libraria Las Tres Cruces, which has a whole back wall plus a third on the second level, FILLED with English-language novels of the late nineteenth and first half twentieth century. It is the bookstore of my dreams.

And then: adios Ciudad de Mexico... it has ben grand spending some time in your arms.

MEXICO CITY 13JAN08: Ole! - Today, while Lauree was busy tearing down at work, Tessa, Ella and I went to experience the corrida de toros - the bull fights, They are held every Sunday (I suppose during bull-fighting season) at the Plaza (de Toros) Mexico, which happens to be the largest bull ring in the world, with a seating capacity of 42,000. On this occasion, however, the plaza was not even a quarter full, so needless to say, we had excellent seats, front row, second tier - excellent until the non-stop stream of vendors began walking back and forth and back and forth in front of us. Chips, nuts & popcorn, donuts & pastries, candy-floss, sombreros, plush-toy cows, plastic bulls, toy banderillas, matador caps, Senor Noodles, lots of unrecognizable mexican food... back and forth and back and forth. But only until the show began, thankfully!

The corrida began with the three featured matadors and the entourage of assistants, including banderilleros (less-flashy matadors with capes) and picadors on horseback, parading around the ring like peacocks, saluting and waving to the spectators. The rig was then cleared, a flourish of trumpets sounded, and a pumped up 500 kilo bull charged into the ring.

the bull was teased and taunted into racing around the perimeter of the ring by the banderilleros, who would shake their magenta and gold capes at the bull, then dive behind tiny sheltered nooks when it charged at them. After several minutes of wearing the bull down, the matador's two picadors entered the ring high on the backs of their heavily-padded horses.

The banderilleros successfully enticed the bull into goring the heavily-padded underside of one of the horses, which gave its picador the opportunity to stab at a mound of muscle on the bull's neck with a long spear-like pike, drawing first blood.

The banderilleros teased the bull for a few more minutes to get the blood flowing, and then each took a turn sticking the bull in the shoulders with two razor-sharp barbed sticks called banderillas. the bull was then ready for the matador to work his magic.

The matador engaged the weary and weakening bull in a graceful choreographed ballet, an elegant dance to the death. The bull quickly fell into a kind of stupor, instinctively lunging at the red cape on cue, but often seeming disoriented and sometimes even distracted. After w while, you could tell it really did not want to be there.

Once the bewildered beast reached a trance-like, almost vegetative state, the matador took his sword and thrust it between the bull's shoulder blades, right to the hilt. The banderilleros took over again, further tormenting the swooning bull with their magenta and gold capes until it collapsed onto its knees and could not get up. One of them finished the defeated animal off by sticking a short-bladed knife into the base of its skull and up into its brain.

The bull's ear was cut off and awarded to the matador, and then the carcass of what only minutes before had been a magnificent and vibrant creature was dragged by the head out of the ring by a team of galloping horses, like just another slab of meat.

this 20 minute ritual was played out half a dozen times over the course of the next three hours, with very little, if any, deviation from the described scenario. One frisky bull did manage to toss one of the matadors into the air and stomp on his head, but that did not change to eventual, inevitable outcome.

Final score: MATADORS 6, TORO 0

I ws curious (if not anxious, in the truest sense of the word) to see how Tessa and Ella would react to witnessing this ritualistic killing of an animal. Surprisingly, they were not sickened, or even grossed out by it. They were definitely routing for the bulls, until the one matador got tossed and trampled... this shook them up a little, and they were actually relieved when the bull was finally put out of its misery. I think this sums it up:: they became caught up in the excitement and potential danger of it, but as soon as there was any sense of suffering, they just wanted it to be over.

And Tessa, being the pragmatist, stated that it made her hungry for a "big bull burger"... she had to settle for a Big Mac!

MEXICO CITY 12JAN08: Finito! - Tonight, Ella completed her final show for Mexico City. We marked the occasion with a midnight bottle of La Gioiosa Fragolino and microwave popcorn.

DID YOU KNOW: - Mexico City is the highest and oldest city in North America, and is home to over 24 million inhabitants, making it the most populous city in the world.

The Weather Network

MEXICO CITY 10JAN08: Chili today, hot tamales - Another beautiful sunny day here in Mexico City, with a predicted high temperature of 73 F. Don't think, however, that we haven't had our share of winter weather; on January 1st and 2nd, it was so cool during the day that we had to wear a sweater.

And we hear our friends back home in Ottawa have gotten a bit of snow this winter...

MEXICO CITY 02JAN08: Hen skin - Last week, we received an email from Cirque fan Ricardo rodrigues Aranda, who praised Ella's performance, writing: "Your voice is charming, i love it... my nephew cry when you song Atmadja at the beginning of the show, and when i heard you my skin looks like hen skin".

Now that's quite a compliment!

As it happened, Ricardo came backstage after the Saturday night show... it was nice to meet you, Ricardo!

MEXICO CITY 01JAN08: Prospero Ano Nuevo - Last night, Cirque organized a New Years Eve party on the rooftop terrace of a fancy hotel in Polanco, an upscale neighbourhood in Mexico City. It was fun, but after our long and exhausting day, we cold hardly keep our eyes open. We welcomed in the new year, then took the Kostya Express back to our apartment and called it a day... but what a day it was!

MEXICO CITY 31DEC07: Under the Volcano - Today we went with a group from Cirque to climb the extinct volcano Iztaccihuati, often referred to as the sleeping woman, because of its profile. It is situated immediately beside the active volcano Popocatepetl, the smoking mountain. This is the volcano referenced in Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry. After our afternoon of climbing, the plan was to go into the nearby city of Pueblo to do some shopping and have a bite to eat.

Getting from Mexico City to Izta was very difficult. First of all, we left an hour latr than planned because the shuttle driver could not find the Stadia Suites where we are staying. This should have given us warning of things to come, because the driver had no idea how to get to Izta either. He had to stop continually to ask for directions from motorists, construction workers, farmers, locals or anyone else who happened to be standing at the side of the road. It wasn't long, however, before we could see the two volcanos from the main highway, although we couldn't tell which from which until one of them began spewing smoke, right before our very eyes. We had no doubt of it being Popo, and you can well imagine the excitement (and apprehension) we all felt seeing that happen.

After driving around the back roads and the back lanes of numerous nameless villages, we finally made it to the dirt road leading to the base of Izta. This dirt road was the worst we have ever had the experience of travelling. to make maters worse, the Bangs family occupied the last row of seating in our fourteen seater shuttle van. For over an hour, we were rocked from side to side, back and forth, and tossed up and down in our seat as the van strained to climb the volcanic silt road that twisted up the mountain. One terrible rut in the road hurtled the four of us upward with neck crunching results, as our heads were jarred mercilessly into the ceiling of the shuttle. We all hurt, but light and gangly Tessa got the worst of it, actually having the wind knocked out of her.

Once we arrived at the base of Izta, however, the aches and pains of our roller-coaster ride up the mountain were soon forgotten. For the next three plus hours, we laboured up Izta, breathless from the altitude and the physical demands of he climb. It was by no means easy, and I thought I was going to have a heart attack. There was no groomed nature trail for us to follow - there was only up, whatever way you could. The first half of the climb was extremely steep, but if you took your time, it was walkable on any number of volcanic silt pick-a-paths that wove through the clumps of long grass and around the odd cluster of boulders. The last half of the climb was almost entirely over large boulders of lava rock, and you often had to climb on hands and knees to reach the next level spot to take a breather. We kept telling ourselves that we would only climb as high as the next bluff, since we had nothing really to prove to anybody, but each goal would lead to another. Eventually, we made it all the way to the top, or at least, as far as we could without mountain climbing gear. The spectacular view was well worth the climb, and looking into the deep empty crater of Izta was enough to make you giddy. We perched o the volcano's lip and ate a snack of fruit, granola bars and cheese & crackers while Popo smoked away to one side of us. It was unreal, surreal even, especially when some of the artists began doing acrobatic stunts on the outcroppings of lava rock!

Climbing back down Izta was equally difficult, but perhaps less physically exerting. We made it down safely in approximately half an hour, and celebrated by having some delicious tacos and some sort of hot beverage prepared by an old Mexican woman in a rough log hut at the base of Izta. We then climbed back into the roller-coaster for another hour of tossing and tumbling down the mountain.

After stopping several times to ask for directions, we made it to Pueblo Mexico's fourth largest city and home to over one million inhabitants. The zocalo (main square) had circus atmosphere and was busy with people, families, lovers balloon vendors, shoe shine boys (I had one of them remove Izta from my Doc Martins), everyone in a festive spirit in anticipation of the evening ahead.We saw the cathedral, which is featured on the Mexican 500 peso bill, and is one of the only cathedrals in Mexico that does not face the the main plaza. We had less than an hour to spend there, however, because we had to get back to Mexico City for the Cirque New Years Eve party. So, after a quick tour around the zocalo, we treated ourselves to a refreshing marguarita at a restaurant facing the plaza, and marvelled at what we had accomplished on this, the last day of the year 2007.

MEXICO CITY 03DEC07: Chinampas of Xochimilco - A change in plans on our day off saw us spending the afternoon with a group of Cirque artists and techie's at the floating gardens in Xochimilco, just south of Mexico City.

Apparently, most of Mexico City was once a vast lake... when Hernando Cortez arrived here in 1510, the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán was an island city in the middle of this lake. The people of the time had piled up rocks and a thick layer of fertile volcanic soil in shallow areas of a small offshoot of the lake to form little islands called chinampas, on which to grow produce for the imperial city. Eventually, a network of canals were developed to navigate through these chinampas. We were going to spend the afternoon cruising down these canals, which are pretty much all that is left of the lake, which has been drained over the centuries to accommodate the growth of Mexico City.

Marc-André, Head of Lighting, arranged to have a city "micro-bus" transport us to Xochimilco, south of the city (thanks Marc-André!). These buses seat around twenty people, and we numbered thirty, including the driver, so it was a bit of a squeeze. The bus arrived punctually one hour late for our pick-up, and the trip took approximately two hours, including one stop to fill up on gas. We were further delayed when the bus stalled on a congested roadway part-way through the city. As the bus had no starter, the driver had to flag down a large truck to bump-push-start the bus, with all of us on it, of course. This was accomplished within a few minutes, and did not seem like anything out of the usual to the truck driver providing the service.

We managed to arrive in Xochimilco safe and sound, and were soon on our way down a canal on two forty-foot long flat-bottomed party-barges, lashed together side by side, and propelled by a fellow with a long pole at the rear of each vessel. The "floating gardens" are so named for being the major supplier of flowers and garden plants for the city, but we did not see much in bloom. Perhaps it is the time of year... not much in bloom back home in Ottawa either!

We did encounter lots of activity on the canals, however. Several smaller barges pulled alongside us with a variety of goods and services to offer. A couple of barges were selling blankets and panchos. Another had a large kettle of boiled cobs of corn, which the vendor would roast for you and serve with a liberal dousing of salt or chili pepper. You could also buy a styrofoam cup filled with kernels and smoothered in mayonnaise and cheese - Mexican poutine! There was also a barge with a grill that served chicken or beef tacos and greasy quesadias. A mariachi band poled alongside and assaulted us with several numbers (the magnificant trumpet player was horribly flat).

We happily cruised the canals with our good company and cervezas/vino in hand for about three hours. We only had to make one bathroom stop, and paid 30 pesos each to use the facilities. All in all, it was a very enjoyable way to spend a December afternoon in Mexico City.

MEXICO CITY 29NOV07: "Soon you'll need pants" - Last night I completed my 10th show for Quidam, and things are looking up! I am back on speaking terms with Toto the clown, and with every couple of shows, I add a song to my play list that was previously done by computer.

Jim Bevan even remarked that soon I'll need pants! Because I sit behind the drum kit in the drum booth and no one can see me below the waist, I have only been wearing a jacket, no pants... blue Quidam pants, that is. I've been wearing black jeans instead.

I will need blue Quidam pants if I am ever to join the other musicians on stage for the final bow at the end of each show.

MEXICO CITY 28NOV07: "Whole México love ur voice"

MOST PECULIAR THING SEEN ON THE MIDNIGHT BUS HOME FROM SITE:

Guadalajara - The boy-girls working the street corners and bus shelters. We also walked by them a couple of times, and they were blatant but generally courteous. And they were "cute"... Tessa and Ella were surprised to find out they weren't actually girls.

Mexico City - a pack of at least five large dogs running along the sidewalk, a couple of shepherds and others of mixed breed. These dogs were buddies out having the time of their lives, but I would hate to encounter them on a walk home... no telling how they might react!

MEXICO CITY 26NOV07: The Police and more... - We have been busy!

I performed in 8 consecutive shows this week, including two shows on Saturday and Sunday. Needless to say, I missed the Police concert, but I don't mind... that is the plight of all working musicians! The Quidam drummer Daniel went to the concert in my place - he spent the evening with my family, and I spent the evening with his family (the Quidam band).

From ALL accounts, The Police were as good as ever. The outdoor stadium where they performed was huge, but the atmosphere was electric and the sound was excellent. Lauree and the girls came home with a couple of concert tee-shirts each, and a Police mug for me. They didn't get backstage as we had hoped they would (see Robert MacKenzie-Police connection below), as the Police were flying off to Cancun immediately after the concert.

The night of the Police concert also marked the 4,000th performance of Quidam. I am thrilled to be in the group photo taken with all the cast members to commemorate that milestone. Ella is not in the picture, but I have no doubt she'll be there for the 5,000th!

There was also a party thrown last (Sunday) night to celebrate the 4,000th show. Tessa, Ella and I performed a few fiddle numbers at the beginning of the evening... they played well, and it gave Jim Bevan, Quidam band leader, a chance to hear them play. Then after a few cervazas and a bit of chat, we musicians got down to business. The makeshift band was made up of the following personnel:

On bass guitar and vocals: Tour Manager Robert MacKenzie. We recently found out that this quiet brit used to play and sing in rock bands back in the UK, and even worked with the Police on tour in the the early '80's!

On acoustic guitar and vocals: Quidam sound man Patrick Burke, an enthusiastic performer and natural front man hailing from Montreal, QC.

Also sharing duties on acoustic guitar and vocals: Technical Operations Director and maritimer Larry Clark, who is a very capable musician with an eclectic repertoire of songs to draw from.

On Mando-caster, Quidam band leader Jim "Hendrix" Bevan from Philadelphia, PA. Jim is the Jimi Hendrix of the mando-caster, which is an electric, single stringed mandolin that sounds like an electric guitar. I doubt there is any rock guitar riff that Jim cannot pull off with this amazing instrument.

On drums: Me - Head of Security Michael Cummings, (who I've have heard has worked security on many rock tours) told me that my drumming brought tears to his eyes, it reminded him so much of Levon Helm!

The audience seemed to really enjoy the songs we cranked out for them last night, everything from Brown-eyed Girl to Zeppelin's Rock and Roll. And if they didn't, well, the band sure had a lot of fun.

MEXICO CITY 23NOV07: Medic Alert! - Lauree was involved in a life or death situation yesterday. A locally-hired kitchen worker named Elizabeth has a severe pineapple allergy and ate some pasta which unknowingly contained pineapple as a minor ingredient. She began to show a reaction, but insisted she would be okay... until minutes later when she started gasping for breath.

Lauree, Chris (the kitchen manager) and Carlos (a local Spanish-speaking technician) immediately jumped into Tour Manager Robert MacKenzie's car to rush the incapacitated girl to the hospital. Along the way, they encountered a traffic jam, total gridlock... the girl by this time was almost comatose in Lauree's arms. Seeing no other option, driver Chris crossed into the opposing lane and continued their mad dash to the hospital, weaving around oncoming traffic. Luckily, they encountered a police cruiser, and Carlos was able to communicate their predicament. With police escort, they were able to safely arrive at the hospital where the girl was able to receive the medical attention she so desperately needed.

We are proud of you, Lauree, Chris and Carlos, for doing what needed to be done in saving this young girl's life.

In other less dramatic news, I filled in again last night for Daniel the drummer. He will be seeing a doctor today for a prognosis. Hopefully, he will be back in the saddle again soon.

MEXICO CITY 21NOV07: Drum roll, please... - GUESS WHAT?!!!!

Tonight... I was... THE DRUMMER FOR QUIDAM!!!!

Daniel the drummer is experiencing some inexplicable numbness down his right arm (I had nothing to do with it, I swear!), and was unable to perform. So, with little more than an hour's notice, I ended up in the drum booth performing several numbers in the show... although I did have to share drumming duties with a computer. At the very least, I got to watch the show from a very unique vantage point, stage side.

The other musicians appeared to be happy with the job I did, appreciating that I was able to get right in the pocket with the groove (and the click track!). The clown Toto hates me though, because I missed several "Ba-dum tish!", like when he whacked someone with his hat, etc.... looks like the ghost of Johnny Vegas was there to haunt me!

The added bonus was that Ella did the show tonight too. The band leader, Jim Bevan, commented that next it will be Tessa's turn to step up to the plate. There may be an opportunity for her to play in the pit when the violinist Sebastien's wife has their baby in April 2008. We are crossing our fingers!

By the way... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEREK!

MEXICO CITY 19NOV07: Dia de la Revolución - Today was a civic holiday in Mexico, the day Mexicans commemorate the Mexican Revolution of 1910 to 1917 (actually la Día de la Revolución is on November 20th). We went downtown to catch some of the festivities, but things were pretty much the same as last time we were there, with most of the shops open, although there were colourful banners decorating some of the streets, and perhaps more people roaming around than usual.

We went back to walk around in the Palacio Nacional (built in 1692), and we were particularly impressed with the murals depicting Tenochtitlán (Mexico City before the Spanish conquest), painted on panels by the renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera between 1929 and 1935. Rivera's other claim to fame was being married to the famous uni-browed artist Frida Kahlo. There are huge paper mache representations of the couple throughout the grounds of the Palacio Nacional.

We then went to see the site of the Templo Mayor, an Aztec temple destroyed by the Spaniards in 1520. It is right downtown next to the Catedral Metropolitana, and was believed to be the centre of the universe by the Aztecs.

We thought it might be a good idea to get Tessa and Ella "smudged" while we had the chance. Smudging is a purification-by-smoke ritual, which helps to purify the mind, body and spirit. We happened upon an Aztec fellow who was willing to perform the ritual. First of all, he blasted a couple of notes out on an abalone shell. Then he liberally doused the girls with smoke he blew from an urn of burning sage while chanting incantations. After he had completed the purification process, he placed sacred stones in their hand. We were very fortunate he was willing to perform this ritual for them, because the Aztecs did not consider a woman human until her 15th birthday.

Shortly afterward, Tessa and Ella had the opportunity to play the Harmonipan, a wooden barrel organ played by khaki-uniformed organ grinders since before the time of the Revolution.

MEXICO CITY 18NOV07: Pyramids of the Sun and Moon - Today we went to see the ruins of the ancient city the Aztecs called Teotihuacán, which roughly translates to be "the place where men become gods". We hired a private tour guide named Hector to bring us there and tell us all about the place, its people and its history.

He made a short (and commissioned, we suspect) side trip to a souvenir stop just outside the site. We learned all about the attributes of a type of cactus particular to the area (used by the ancients to make paper, fabric, needles and thread and a milky foul-tasting liquor). Tessa and Ella got their first sampling of tequila (with lime and salt), but neither were very impressed with it. Finally, Hector took us on to the site.

After a brief discourse, we climbed to the top of la Pirámide de la Luna and admired the grand scale of the site afforded us by the view. We then walked down la Calle de los muertos, and imagined what the promenade may have looked like during its heyday in 600 A.D. We marvelled at the stone carvings of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl (the feathered-serpent), and shuddered to think what the fate may have been of the 365 skeletons discovered during recent excavations inside the temple.

We also climbed the 245 steps to the top of the Pirámide del sol. It seemed that some people climb to the top in order to touch a coin-sized metal disc embedded in the crown of the pyramid, for some sort of good luck, such as one might touch the blarney stone. Lauree and Ella were lucky just getting the opportunity to touch it, because some pushy woman who had elbowed her way through the throng was acting like the gods had placed the disk there solely for her benefit and/or amusement. Others appear to climb in order to enjoy the energizing capacity of the pyramid, standing with arms stretched to the heavens, I suppose to maximize the connection. Tessa, Ella and I tried this, but any energizing that might have occurred was easily expended on the climb back down. There were even a few young women who apparently climbed to the top of the pyramid just to stand and look fashionable... in their high heel shoes!

We topped the day off by returning to the hotel and watching Apocalypto, the film by Mel Gibson, which we all enjoyed thoroughly.

MEXICO CITY 16NOV07: Ella's Mexico City Premiere - Everyone was even more intent than usual to put on a great show last evening, because Cirque founder and Chief Executive Officer Guy Laliberté had flown down from Montreal in his private jet to attend the premiere. Although there were some artists who had hoped to have performed better than they did, Guy called a "tapis rouge" immediately following the final curtain to express his thanks to everyone for a job well done.

Ella put in a wonderful performance and made us all very proud, despite having a badly stubbed toe injured while practising handstands in the hotel room!

Afterward, everyone was shuttled off to a private club for the customary premiere party. There was an open bar serving cerveza, liquor and cocktails, but our poison of choice was the marguaritas served in salt-rimmed terra cotta pots.

The club was decorated throughout with huge panels depicting lucha libre, and black & white lucha libre movies were being projected on the walls. In the center of the club was a large wrestling ring. The entertainment for the evening was two matches of lucha libre, during which the wrestlers flung around and jumped on each other (rather comically) inside and outside the ring. Afterward, traditional lucha libre masks and other wooden mexican toys were handed out to all the guests.

A great time was had by all, and we didn't get back to the hotel and into bed until around four in the morning!

DID YOU KNOW? - Ostrich tastes just like top quality beef; so much so, that Tessa joined me in having an ostrich "steak" last evening at the premiere dinner that the Cirque chefs went all out for. Even Lauree had a bite and deemed it not only "non-life threatening", but also pretty darn good! Other meat offerings to choose from were veal, rack of lamb, beef tornadoes, chicken, prawns and oysters.

MEXICO CITY 13NOV07: But for the grace of God! - Much of the site here in Mexico City is unpaved with only a thin layer of gravel futilely intended to keep the dust down. Today, as I was climbing the couple of stairs up to the kitchen tent doorway, I felt a small pebble lodged in the heel of my shoe. Before entering the tent, I instinctively scuffed my foot backward to dislodge the pebble, and, much to my surprise and embarrassment, kicked someone on the stairs behind me. I turned in full apology (which quickly became a sudden apprehension) to face a large, muscular and seriously intimidating-looking "fly-in"* holding a case of bottled water.

"These bottles saved my balls." he grunted dully.

I think they may have saved mine too...


* A worker flown from site to site to help set up or tear down.

MEXICO CITY 11NOV07: Remembrance Day - Something I have noticed about being on tour with an international community in foreign countries is the passing-without-notice of traditionally all-important dates and holidays.

Thanksgiving, which happens to be my favourite holiday, was a normal working day like any other. It would have gone by totally unnoticed if someone from back home didn't wish us a happy thanksgiving in an email. No turkey, no pumpkin pie, no thanks.

Hallowe'en was almost an afterthought... the kids spent 15 minutes going around to the various tents on site to collect a handfull of candy. No carving pumpkins, no haunted houses, no witches, ghosts or goblins, no trick-or-treating, no chili afterward.

Today was Remembrance Day... on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, Tessa, Ella, Lauree and I were on a bus with two dozen other Cirque artists to go watch the Champ Car World Series Gran Premio in downtown Mexico City. The Mexican promotor OCESA was kind enough to invite us all to watch the race in their VIP box, complete with free munchies and beer. I only realized it was Remembrance Day because I happened to notice the date on the television monitor.

It is not only holidays that are hard to keep track of... we could rarely tell you what day of the week it is, let alone the actual date. This is largely due to the Quidam work week being Tuesday to Sunday, and work days running from 10ish in the morning to often after 11:00 at night.

We will know when it is Christmas, however... we get the day off!

MEXICO CITY 09NOV07: Top three gross sightings of the day - While Lauree was busy at work helping to raise the Grand Chapiteau, Tessa, Ella & I took a 25 minute cab ride to downtown Mexico City to check out the area known as Centro Historico. The focal point of this area is a large open square surrounded by many historic buildings, including la Catedral and El Palacio Nacional, which I believe serves the same purpose as our House of Commons on Parliament Hill. We toured around, took some photos and then returned to the hotel in Santa Fe. During our excursion, however, we encountered three things that completely grossed out Tessa and Ella:

1. Displayed in a restaurant window were several of their specialty dishes... on one platter was small cooked head of a goat or lamb. The grinning teeth really freaked Ella out!

2. At a newstand, on the front page of a prominently displayed tabloid newspaper was a large colour photograph of a bloodied male corpse with hamburger for a face and a split-open skull.

3. Waiting in our taxi home at a red light, we noticed an pot-bellied hombre handing out flyers to people in the stopped cars. This is something we have seen at almost every major intersection since we arrived in Mexico... someone handing out flyers, selling snacks or drinks, or offering to clean your windshield or buff your car for spare change. What we didn't expect to see was that the hombre was completely naked, except for an 8 by 10 photograph hanging from a string around his waist (which thankfully covered his private part) and running shoes. Just when the girls thought they had seen it all (no pun intended!), the light turned green and we turned the corner only to be confronted by some kind of protest march. The approximately 200 protesters, also hombres, were all (un)dressed in the same manner as the naked hombre we had just seen. The girls were fearful that there might be a sudden gust of wind that would most certainly add an unexpected element to the protest. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough with the camera to capture the moment for our photo gallery.

MEXICO CITY 08NOV07: Cabbing it in Santa Fe - Ella, Tessa and I arrived in Mexico City (Santa Fe actually, an upscale suburb of Mexico City) on Monday evening... Lauree had remained behind in Guadalajara to help finish packing up the site, and would arrive only the next evening. We immediately set out to pick up a few grocery items at the local grocery store (Superama), which is within a perilous ten minute walk from the Stadia Suites Hotel where we are staying. I say perilous only because of a busy traffic circle we have to traverse that is part of an on and off ramp system for the Prolongación Reforma freeway.

We arrived at the Superama around dusk, thanks largely to the intuition and particularly good night vision of "Sasha" Pestov (Vova's dad), who along with Natalia and Vova happened to be undertaking the same mission as us. It was getting quite dark by the time we had finished our grocery shopping, so we prudently decided to forego the perilous walk ahead of us and instead, take a taxi cab back to the hotel. We showed the driver our room access card which had the name of the hotel on it, but the driver indicated he was unfamiliar with its location. There was some quick thinking on Tessa part, however, as she directed the driver to look across to the far side of the freeway, where the lit-up name of the hotel shone from the top of the building a stone's throw away (Way to go Tessa!). A generous twenty pesos later, we were safe and sound back at the hotel.

The taxi cab that we rode in, like the majority of taxi cabs we've seen in Santa Fe (and possibly all of Mexico City) was a green mid-eighties-style Volkswagen beetle with a white roof. It had the front passenger seat removed, so that passengers sitting across the rear bench seat can stretch out their legs, or as in our case, stow their carry-on (our 8 bags of groceries). The driver closed the passenger door by pulling on a rope tied to its arm rest. I am not sure how he opened the door, however... I will have to make a point of checking into that!

Interesting enough (or not), the taxi cabs in Shanghai are all recent model Volkswagens (Santana 3000's), and in Guadalajara, they are all yellow mid-nineties-style Nissans.

GUADALAJARA 02NOV07: El dia de los muertos - Today was the Day of the Dead! Tessa, Ella, Vova and I headed to the Panteón de Mezquitan to see how the day of the dead is celebrated in Guadalajara. I had hoped to bring them to the Panteón de Belen, an older and more famous cemetery, but it was closed for restorations.

There is a high wall completely surrounding the Panteón de Mezquitan; the exterior walls on three of the sides are covered in grafitti (a serious problem in Guadalajara) but the wall along the front of the cemetery has a mural of everyday life painted on it the length of a city block. The sidewalks outside these walls were lined with vendors selling flowers, wreaths, miniature sugar skulls and coffins, and sugared loaves with the shape of what appeared to be a tarantula (although someone has suggested bones) on the top.

Inside the wrought iron gate at the entrance way of the Panteón de Mezquitan was a flurry of activity. Throughout the cemetery, several generations of families were camped out at the crypts of their ancestors with flowers, food and beverages, taking the opportunity to reconnect with their deceased loved ones. Small groups of Mariachi musicians wandered from grave site to grave site offering to perform a song or two for a modest fee. Local entrepreneurs with brooms,mops and buckets were also offering discounts for their services to spruce up the family plot.

Not everyone, however, was out to make a quick buck on El dia de los muertos. A vendor selling sugar skulls had an interesting table cloth depicting dancing skeletons under her wares. I expressed interest in it, and asked rather poorly where she got it. She gave me the information, but of course I had no idea what she was saying. Seeing my confusion, she then gestured that she would give me the table cloth. She refused to accept any kind of payment for it, so I ended up buying three sugar skulls, and then refused to accept any change back from the 100 pesos I gave her. This was not the first time I experienced someone in Guadalajara refusing to accept payment... Señor Juan Floras, the Mariachi teacher also refused to take any money for the lessons he gave to Tessa and Ella.

GUADALAJARA 02NOV07: Celebrityism - This is something we didn't have to deal with on the fiddle contest circuit! Ella's Zoé appears to be making an impression on certain members of the Guadalajara audience... she has begun to receive cards, gifts and letters of adoration from young (in their twenties!) caballeros. This unexpected attention is pretty overwhelming for A TEN YEAR OLD, not to mention the parents of A TEN YEAR OLD!

As they say, truth is stranger than fiction!

GUADALAJARA 31OCT07: Drummer Wanted - This may be of interest to my music buddies. Jim Bevan, the band leader for Quidam held an audition today to find a back-up drummer to perform a couple of strategic, non-programmable numbers in the show, in the event the house drummer is unable to perform.

Well, I got the job. At least it's a foot in the door...

GUADALAJARA 31OCT07: Manzanilla or Bust! - We had both Monday and Tuesday off this week (what Cirque calls a "double dark"), so Lauree arranged a 2 days-one night stay at the Barcelo Karina Palace in Manzanilla, a beach resort town 4 plus hours from Guadalajara. The resort happened to be very nice and we had a great time there, but it was a resort just like countless others here, there and everywhere, so there is not much to tell.

However, the bus ride to the resort was something extraordinary, at least by Canadian standards.

I don't know why, but when I think of taking a bus cross-country in Mexico, I get this image of a beat up bucket of bolts crammed with sweaty lethargic passengers (and don't forget the large leather trunks and chickens in cages strapped to the roof) rattling its way perilously up and down mountain roads (at excessive speeds, where gravity permits).

Well, we had the mountain roads, but the bus we rode in was a full-sized air-conditioned coach with a seating capacity of only 24 passengers. The reason for the limited seating was that the seats were wide and comfortable, like those in first class on an aircraft, and only three across. There was a upholstered wedge that folded down from the footrest at the back of the seat ahead of you to support your legs, and the seat fully reclined, without any inconvenince to the passenger behind you. Also like on an aircraft, new release movies were shown on a digital flat screen monitors strategically placed throughout the cabin, and each passenger had headphones. A box lunch was handed to each of the passengers as they boarded the bus.

"Come on," you might say, "this is fairly standard fare for any bus tour or charter you might experience in Canada!" And I would agree, except that this was the local express that runs back and forth between Guadalajara to Manzanilla 8 times daily. Believe me, this was no Voyageur Colonial! And to top it off, this 4 hour one-way first-class treatment cost approximately 26 dollars CDN per person.

Although this is a mundane topic for blogging, I had to write something about it... the bus service was truly amazing.

DID YOU KNOW?: - The slice of lime accompanying your cerveza is provided simply to disinfect the mouth of the bottle. Only "turistas" shove the lime down into the bottle to flavour the beer.

GUADALAJARA 28OCT07: Celebrity Sightings - The Presidente Intercontinentale where we are staying is apparently the best hotel in town... as such, any celebrities visisting Guadalajara are likely to check in there.

Last week, Lauree and Tessa noticed a bit of activity in the lobby, with lots of photographers and quite a rabble of people. Turns out it was all about The Killers (although they didn't know it at the time!). A few days later, one of the girls in the troupe (Meghan from Cerceau) happened to share an elevator with Kenny G. In fact, he attempted to chat her up, saying ""Hola Señorita... hablas ingles?".

"Uhhh, yes, I'm from the U.S." replied Meghan, a California girl who is not particularly hispanic looking. Smooth one, Mr G!

At least, this is the story as I overheard it...

GUADALAJARA 27OCT07: Pretzel Logic? - Although we have had some fiddle time, Tessa & Ella are, for the moment, more interested in pursuing "Circus Arts". Natalia, who is a Russian artist with the troupe, has taken the girls under her wing and is giving them up to 45 minutes of intensive training every show night. She bends and stretches them almost to tears, much to Tessa and Ella's delight!

Natalia is impressed with their natural flexibility, particularly that of Tessa, whom Natalie believes has the potential for being a contortionist some day! The only question now is, how can we work that into Novelty Fiddling?

GUADALAJARA 25OCT07: Tour Services Co-ordinator for Quidam - Some people may not be aware that when we were in Shanghai, a job opening came up for the position of Tour Services Co-ordinator for Quidam. Lauree applied for it, and got the job! (Way to go Lauree - woo-hoo!)

GUADALAJARA 21OCT07: An Evening With The Killers - As it happens, we missed our chance to see the charreadas (Mexican rodeo) - the season ended the first Saturday in October. Tessa, Ella and I did, however, get to share an incredible Saturday night with over 10,000 chicas and muchachos at the sweet mercy of The Killers.

The concert took place at the recently opened Auditorio Metropolitano. This concert hall is truly amazing... although our seats were in the nose-bleed section of the third balcony, we had a terrific view of the stage. The pitch of the rows of seating is so steep that we felt we could almost reach out and touch the performers on stage below us. The accoustics were such that we didn't need the earplugs we brought along... it was loud enough to hear every note, but not the death by volume we have become accustomed to attending concerts in our "hockey arenas" back home. Even our own National Arts Centre in Ottawa pales in comparison to this magnificant complex.

The opening act was Louis XIV... great name and logo, forgettable performance. Then came The Killers...

As soon as the lights began to dim, the place came alive with thunderous applause, cheering and even hysterical screaming! The ruckus continued unabated for the duration of a three minute black and white video clip. Then, when the band members walked out on stage, the crowd exploded with passionate adoration. For the next hour and forty-five minutes, singer Brandon Flowers sincerely and unapologetically sang his heart out for his audience. The songs were appealingly honest and strangely sentimental. The audience, although almost entirely Spanish-speaking (keeping in mind Tessa, Ella and I were there too!), knew every word to every song. They also knew every song from the opening chord. Brandon Flowers spent the evening having a love affair with his audience, but it was noble, not mushy-gushy.

Tessa and Ella were thrilled by the experience... they (we) are now die-hard Killers fans!

GUADALAJARA 19OCT07: Wolf Whistles - The other morning, the kids and I were walking down the boulevard between the site and the hotel. Walking ahead of us (at a respectable distance) were two sweet young things from the troupe (Ronnie and Julie, the Albinos from Banquine) in short shorts and heels. During the 10 minute walk from the site to the hotel, these girls must have received at least half-a-dozen wolf whistles from men in passing cars.

How 20th century!

GUADALAJARA 16OCT07: Visitors From Home! - Some of the Jeffrey clan, Sharon, Lorna and husband John, Kevin and Derek (Lauree's cousins) arranged a holiday in Puerto Vallarta to coincide with the Quidam tour being in Guadalajara. Although there were some difficulties coordinating communication once they arrived at the resort in Mexico, it was eventually determined that Tuesday worked out best for their excursion to see Ella in Quidam.

They arranged for a van and driver to get them to Guadalajara and then back to Puerto Vallarta (Five hours each way!). In the meantime, we arranged for last-minute tickets to the show (thank you Pascale), backstage access after the show (thank you Ben), meal tickets (thank you Irina and Willem), visitor passes (thank you Michael) and sought general advice on how to make everything work out okay (thank you Roland and Sean). And in the end, everything seemed to work out okay!

Thanks for coming out Sharon, Lorna, John, Kevin and Derek... it was great seeing you all!

GUADALAJARA 15OCT07: Presidente Intercontinentale Fiddle Jam - We arranged to get together and trade licks with Sébastien Savard (violinist for Quidam) on Monday night at the Cirque Lounge.

MAN, CAN THAT GUY PLAY! We'll have to remember to bring a fire extinguisher to our next jam though, because Sébastien's fiddle really starts smokin' once he gets into some of those folklore tunes!

Thanks for jamming with us Sébastien... it was a lot of fun.

GUADALAJARA 15OCT07: Tessa's Mariachi Lesson - We arrived at the Plazuela de los Mariachis, where we had arranged for Tessa's lesson to take place, around noon. Los Mensajeros de Jalisco were already there, lounging about at several patio tables set up in the plaza. Wanting to be discrete, we settled ourselves at a patio table of our own to wait for the violin instructor, Señor Juan Flores, to approach us a his convenience. I left Tessa to set up her violin and set out to fetch an orange juice for Tessa and a coffee for myself. By the time I returned, the mariachi lesson was in full swing.

Señor Juan was somewhat disappointed Ella had not come, as he had chosen a duet piece for the lesson with both girls in mind. Nonetheless, he was teaching Tessa the melody and playing the harmony himself. Señor Juan would play a bar, and Tessa would repeat it. It was difficult for Tessa to understand what she was learning, as there was no sheet music, and the music was completely out of time and context. In fact, at one point I mentioned to Tessa that I thought the song had a swing feel in 3/4 time (like a waltz). Señor Juan understood me, and explained that it was in fact a shuffle in 4/4 time (like a jig). For those who don't know it, there is a BIG different between a waltz and a jig!

The lesson was short lived, however, as the other mariachis started calling for Señor Juan to hurry up because they had to get going to their gig. Fortunately, we had brought our cassette recorder and had the critical parts of the song on tape so that Tessa could work on it through the week (with Ella).

Next lesson, same time next week. And Ella will attend, at Señor Juan's request.

On a final note... my coffee (which none of the little bistros in the Plazuela de los Mariachis served, so I had to buy it at an OXXO, which is like a Quickie Mart, or 7-Eleven) had an extremely foul odor to it... it smelled like a steaming pile of, well... merde. It must be the water! (I drank it anyway... you know how it is. It was my first coffee of the day.)

GUADALAJARA 12OCT07: Ella's Guadalajara Debut - Ella made her Guadalajara debut on Friday night. She was feeling a little nervous about her state of readiness. Although she had been in Guadalajara for a full week, she did not have the opportunity to sing or even set foot on stage. Ella had to go on cold... well, except for a vocal warm-up and brief sound check Friday afternoon. Nobody's fault, it just happened that way... but it wreaked havoc on her confidence level!

Come show time, however, she was focused and ready to go. And she did a terrific job! Tessa, Lauree and I were all backstage during the show to provide moral support. It was wonderful seeing the confidence slowly coming back into Ella's being as she completed each act of the show. She has done a double-bill since her debut, and in each, her performance has become stronger and stronger.

Andre Boileau, the Quidam singer and vocal coach for the Zoés on tour, noticed that Ella had been worrying over her performances. This puzzled him, because he recognized that she has everything it takes to be fabulous in the role.

His words of advice to Ella were brilliant: "Stop auditioning - you got the job!"

GUADALAJARA 12OCT07: The Road To Zapopan - There is a statue of the Virgin Mary known as the Nuestra Señora de Zapopan that has great historical significance for people in these parts... in fact, she is the Patron Saint of Guadalajara. She spends much of the year visiting the various parishes in the Mexican state of Jalisco, but every year on October 12th, she returns home to the Basilica de Zapopan.

Shortly after 6:30 am, Tessa and I arrived at the Catedral in Guadalajara, where the Nuestra Señora, or "Virgen de Zapopan" had spent the last month or so in her annual travels. A procession of thousands had already formed to accompany the Nuestra Señora the eight kilometers back to the town of Zapopan. There were dozens of organized groups consisting of up to 20 dancers in colourful regalia and a drummer, who often also played a tiny wooden flute while banging out steady rhythms on the drum. Most of the dancers had wooden blocks with thin tin soles on the bottom of their footware, which clacked loudly on the asphalt as they marched quicktime with the drumming.

The Nuestra Señora and her entourage, which now included Tessa and I, started inching their way toward Zapopan at around 7:00. Although the roadway was closed to traffic, it was the exclusive domain of the marching groups of dancers, and enforcers in grotesque rubber masks cracked bull whips, jeered and bullied the throng of spectators and followers back onto the narrow sidewalks on each side of the road. It was pretty slow going making our way among the trudging multitude, many with small children, strollers and babes-in-arms, and our progress was even more frustrated by the numerous vendors who had blocked the sidewalk with their stalls to sell food and trinkets to the masses.

And there was an extremely foul odor that permeated the whole parade route... it smelled like a steaming pile of, well... merde. It was especially nauseating if you found yourself crossing over one of the large sewer grates along the roadway. And talk about garbage... plastic bottles, broken glass, scraps of paper, celaphane and other litter everywhere. There will be some clean-up tomorrow... I hope!

It was almost 11:00 am when we arrived in the center of Zapopan where the parade suddenly lost its shape and became a large meandering crowd of worn out revellers, making their way through a maze of hotdog stands, arts & crafts and souvenir booths. We followed a trickle of paraders making their way down a side street to the courtyard of a rather ancient looking church, which appeared to be the official end destination of the parade. We paused for a few minutes and then made our way next door, to the grounds of the Basilica de Zapopan, a magnificant looking church built by franciscan friars in 1690. The crowd had assembled there to attend what we assume was a mass... someone unseen preaching in Spanish through a massive sound system. We took a couple of photos and then left.

In the end, we never did actually catch even a glimpse of the Nuestra Señora de Zapopan, but we feel we did our part in making sure she arrived safe and sound back home at the Basilica.

SHANGHAI 26AUG07: Alteration Altercation - I had coerced Lauree into getting a dress made at the fabric market, which is a large warehouse-type of building containing 4 floors of fabric vendors in individual stalls. We went to pick pick up the finished product, but when Lauree tried on the dress, it was much too tight fitting around the waist.. the material was all bunched up and did not fall properly. "TOO TIGHT!" Lauree pleaded to the shopkeeper. After some convincing, the shopkeeper finally called in the tailor, who was reluctant to do anything about it. Finally, he agreed to make an alteration to the dress, and promised to return with it within the hour.

Two hours later, he returned with the dress. Lauree tried it on, but it was still too tight. "STILL TOO TIGHT!" Lauree kept repeating to the shopkeeper and tailor, who would only smile and say "S'okay". As we could no longer spare the time, we tried demanding our deposit back, but now the shopkeeper was simply ignoring us.

A seasoned East-Indian shopper asked what the trouble was. After Lauree explained, the shopper indicated that we were not likely to get any money back unless we raised a real commotion. To this, Lauree stated "everybody ready?" and then began shreiking at the top of her lungs "DON'T SHOP HERE! DON'T SHOP HERE! NOT NICE PEOPLE! DON'T SHOP HERE!" over and over again. Chinese shoppers walking by would not have had any idea what this lunatic was saying, but they nonetheless kept their distance.

An elderly Chinese lady stopped to ask Lauree what she was yelling about - Lauree explained the whole story to her, and then the Chinese lady began to lay into the shop keeper. This new development attracted a bit of a crowd... in the frenzy, Lauree could no longer hold back the tears. Then a security person appeared, and the elderly Chinese lady instructed us to follow him. He led us down some back passages until we arrived at the dank little smoke-filled office of a bunch of Chinese businessmen in suits.

The elderly Chinese lady stated our case, and the lead businessman directed Lauree to put on the dress for them to see for themselves. When she returned from the bathroom with the dress all bunched up above the hips, the businessmen were unanimous in their decision... "TOO TIGHT"!". They ordered the shopkeeper to pay them the deposit, which they then promptly handed over to Lauree.

SHANGHAI 23AUG07: Crosstown Traffic - Shanghai-style!

Traffic is crazy in Shanghai - taxis, buses, trucks, scooters, bicycles and pedestrians, all in a mad rush to get from point A to B. The motorized vehicles are continuously honking - not in the Western "Watch where you`re going you idiot!" manner, but more as a simple warning of "Out of my way, I`m coming through!" The rule of thumb appears to be that if you can cut somebody off, then you have the right of way.

Pedestrians negotiate traffic like a matador negotiates a bull... they walk in the middle of the roadway as if they have as much right to be there as the vehicles. Two elderly Chinese gentlemen strolling across a road were honked at by a taxi driver... they completely ignored the driver with complete indignation. People cross the road wherever they like, whenever they like... but don`t think that crossing at an intersection with the walk sign in your favour gives you immunity against getting run over! It is a free-for-all!

It is not that people drive fast... they just never bring their vehicles to a full stop. Traffic is constantly moving, creeping along. There is even an amber light preceeding the green to make sure drivers don't dilly-dally at intersections.

The strange thing is... with all the perceived confusion of Shanghai traffic, we did not see a single fender-bender, nor did we see any vehicles showing signs of having been in an accident, such as dents or even scratches.

SHANGHAI 13AUG07: A Stroll Through Walmart - Being strangers in a strange land, it seemed to us that a visit to the Walmart, only a couple of blocks from our hotel, would help us to get our bearings. This Walmart, however, was unlike any we had been to before. The main floor was all grocery items, including a large bulk food, produce and meat section... and the smell of the place was overwhelming.

A Chinese boy was gaily tunneling his hands into the rice in the bulk food section. No one seemed at all concerned. A produce department employee was slicing open strange prickly coconut-sized fruits and digging out their foul-smelling flesh to place on small styrofoam trays. A piece that got away from him and spittled across the floor was promptly picked up by the employee and placed back onto a styrofoam tray. No problem. Large tables of raw unrefrigerated cuts of mystery meat crowded the meat section. Customers were picking through the pieces with their bare hands. Cooked or maybe even uncooked chickens and ducks, and some-sort of sausage meat hung in rows above the tables.

The sights and smells proved too much for Ella, who was trying to make a bee-line through this gastly maze of meat, and she began to wretch into her hands. I quickly led her to a garbage can where she threw up. She then looked up and noticed she was standing beside a large barrel of raw unrefrigerated chicken feet. She can vividly recall seeing the veins sticking out from where the feet were severed. A Chinese lady had plunged her arms up to the elbows into the barrel, rooting out the plumpest feet for her table.

Also worth honourable mention was the three-in-one instant coffee (coffee, cream and sugar - just add boiling water!) and the corn-flavoured yogurt... now that is different!