Good Wednesday, my peeps! It’s that time of the week. Some call it Hump Day, we here in this group call it Friday Fictioneers Prompt Day! And jeez louise, Rochelle chose a doozie from Ronda Del Boccio
I was stumped for a bit… then I wasn’t. Hope it gives you a chuckle… Click on the blue frog below if this photo inspires you to write something… anything!
“You must have suffered an immense amount of heartburn. I have heard that women do in this instance.”
Jeanie couldn’t help but smile at all the comments she received when people were first introduced to her newborn son, George. It truly was something else. She had suffered an insane amount of heartburn. During her whole pregnancy, Jeanie popped Tums like they were candy.
“Crazy, eh? I don’t know where it comes from but his hair was like that at birth! Straight up and full!
This is the way to hear music, I think, surrounded by rolling hills and farmlands, under a big sky.
– Michael Lang (Co-creator of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival)
As promised… here’s the next installment of our Woodstock Wander in Mid-July. How can it be almost mid-August already?
Wednesday morning was THE day. We were finally going to visit the site of THE Rock Concert of all time! To say we were excited, is to put mildly. Two Fifty-somethings all a-giggle, I tell ya… By now we have watched countless videos about Woodstock, totally immersed ourselves into the whole experience as much as two born-too late-to-have-been-there peeps could be. (And if we had been there, would have been too young to remember and would have had beyond-cool (or crazy) parents… Just sayin’). One hour, some 60-ish miles away. I swear, we are still trying to wrap our heads around a Woodstock that never took place in Woodstock. I think B’s wonderful intro post to our adventure says it best here.
But first, we needed sustenance. I had brought my crêpe mix so of course I had to make those. But then, I pimped ’em up. We needed to fuel up, after all! A little bacon, some Swiss cheese and a fried egg on top was sure to do the trick – add to that some Québec maple syrup and we had ourselves a breakfast of champions…
No matter how many videos we had watched – and we watched many there (not to mention tons more since our return), we were still amazed to drive through the winding country roads towards Bethel. We tried to imagine all those thousands of cars simply left willy-nilly to block the road for three, almost four, days. Insane. Did you know that 37 rental cars were lost? Thirty-seven!! Just one of those little snippets of information discovered…
We finally get to our destination…
… and there are huge, I mean HUGE parking lots… now 😉 We chose a shady area to park the car and made our way to the main building. How did I manage to NOT take a picture of the outside? I dunno… So I have nabbed the one on the site…
I don’t know how to explain the myriad emotions this place evoked. Maybe it was just us. But I don’t think so. Maybe we had created an expectation by reading about it, seeing movies, documentaries, listening to the music. While neither one of us had this destination at the top of our bucket lists, we were still thrilled and awed that our desire to meet had directed us to this place. Just how did the Universe sneakily direct us here? Our love of music, culture and history might have had something to do with it. Whatever it was that did bring us here, we felt we were on hallowed ground. Or we gave it that descriptive.
Or maybe, just maybe, we each have a little Hippie in our Hearts.
We purchased our tickets and entered, looking forward to – we had no idea what!
“We were ready to rock out and we waited and waited and finally it was our turn … there were a half million people asleep. These people were out. It was sort of like a painting of a Dante scene, just bodies from hell, all intertwined and asleep, covered with mud.
And this is the moment I will never forget as long as I live: A quarter mile away in the darkness, on the other edge of this bowl, there was some guy flicking his Bic, and in the night I hear, ‘Don’t worry about it, John. We’re with you.’ I played the rest of the show for that guy.
—John Fogerty recalling Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 3:30 am start time at Woodstock”
There were so many things to see, notes to read, we could have stayed in there for hours on end.
It’s funny… I didn’t take the picture of the sign explaining the fence but felt this other sign said it all. This concert was going to be way bigger than anyone could have anticipated (Imagine how parties have gotten out of hand with the advent of Facebook? Could you even imagine?) People were not going to let some fence stop them from getting in… Might as well give in. And they did! In the name of peace. And debt.
The useless fence
It’s free, man…
So many details, so many stories, so many things to see!
There is a small theatre within the museum that shows a 20-minute movie about the event. So, of course, we watched it!
So many acts played in those three days, that spilled into part of the fourth. Sha Na Na? Really? John B. Sebastian wasn’t even scheduled to play. He was a “filler” and, according to Ira Brooker from “A Talent for Idleness” Sebastian was the ultimate hippie. I dig, I dig. And, I didn’t know him. And now I do.
Time to go outside and see just where this party took place.
The grounds around the museum are beautiful and a stroll was in order.
Though he never made a sound, I could sense B was itching to get to the site itself and I quickly snapped a couple more pics before joining him.
I don’t know why I never realised how much of a hill it was! You see the pictures and there are masses of people but somehow, I just never focused on the terrain itself. This sign gives you such a perspective of the size when you are in front of the field. I purposefully left just a smidge of said sign in the second pic showing the road (we felt it would be disrespectful to walk on the grass itself – at that time, anyway!) we took to get down to the bottom to show you a portion of it.
As we made our way down, we could see, right in the middle of the field, a huge Peace sign cut into the grass (like a crop circle 😉 ) Too bad they have been suffering from lack of rain because it is a tad difficult to see, no matter how much I enhanced it.
We, of course, went to the official memorial monument (which bizarrely is NOT where the stage was…)
The stage is left of and further down from the marker when looking up the hill. It was confusing to us at first but then I could see the demarcation of the sort of square where the stage was.
Standing on the “stage”, looking up I could not imagine 500,000 people. I’m sure the 600 acres Max Yasgur rented out spilled out beyond… Plus, I do not have a wide lens… but still. It takes your breath away.
I’m a farmer. I don’t know how to speak to twenty people at one time, let alone a crowd like this. But I think you people have proven something to the world–not only to the Town of Bethel, or Sullivan County, or New York State; you’ve proven something to the world. This is the largest group of people ever assembled in one place. We have had no idea that there would be this size group, and because of that, you’ve had quite a few inconveniences as far as water, food, and so forth. Your producers have done a mammoth job to see that you’re taken care of… they’d enjoy a vote of thanks. But above that, the important thing that you’ve proven to the world is that a half a million kids–and I call you kids because I have children that are older than you–a half million young people can get together and have three days of fun and music and have nothing but fun and music, and I God Bless You for it!
— addressing the crowd at Woodstock on August 17, 1969
Peace and Love…
We made our way back to the car, our souvenirs in hand (of course I got a Tye-died shirt) with new memories created and oh-so happy we had made the trek. We may have missed out on actually being part of the whole Woodstock experience 49 years earlier, but walking those grounds sure brought us closer to the feeling that we would have fit right in.
Joni Mitchell didn’t make it either, but all say she captured the feeling exactly. I was torn between the video where Joni explains why she wasn’t there – with a little catch in her voice – or the one she did right after the concert… So I put both!
I have to thank Frank, I think, for introducing me to The Piano Guys on his blog. If it wasn’t him… no… it was him, I’m fairly certain… I then caught a video here and there on Facebook, which led me to watching one after another on YouTube. Well, don’tcha know, way back in February, the 8th, to be precise, tickets went on sale for The Piano Guys. They were going to be in Montreal for three nights. Woot! Without further thought, I bought a pair of tickets. For Wednesday, August 1st. Six months away. Had no idea who would be joining me and it didn’t matter because I knew I would find a willing accomplice.
Only thing is, not many people in my crowd know who they are. No matter. I mentioned it to Julie, that kinda friend who is willing to join me for pretty much anything (Cubano Sammy Search? Check!, Ballet tickets sold to me from another friend? Check!) “Who are they,” she asks? “Google ’em,” I say. Same day, I get an “I’m in!” Like I was surprised. This chick is a lot like me. We dig good stuff. We like to explore, we love cultural activities… we were even asked if we were sisters as we walked to the venue!
So, let’s start at the beginning of our evening. Yes, we went to a favourite restaurant in the Gay Village: Mozza Pâtes et Passions (where I have brought about 13-14 people so far – I’ve lost count). It’s good food quality/price-wise, it’s bring-your-own-wine and it’s the best place to people-watch as you sit on the terrasse (terrace for you non-Quebecers) – and lemme tell you, there are some wild ones. We smiled and nodded at the ones we could not help but admire…. coz seriously, that scrawny guy in the floppy hat, yellow dress, fishnet stockings and platform sandals, not walking but sashaying in a way that said… “This is me, bitch!” deserved a smile.
Plus, where else can you dance in the bathroom? (Yes, I am sitting on the toilet, looking up!!)
We decided to take a chance (dissing the weatherman’s predictions) and walk to Place des Arts from Mozza – we are talking a good 20 blocks, 1.7 km (a bit over a mile). Now that is not so bad, a twenty minute walk or so, and part of it in the middle of St.Catherine Street which is closed off to cars during the summer and strung up with balls representing the LGBT flag. Fun stuff.
We made it, with time to spare, and sat in our front-row tickets on the first balcony, right in the centre.
What a show, with each half lasting one hour, a 20-minute intermission separating them. Time flew. These guys are hilarious, ridiculously talented and wonderful performers who who interact with their audience as well as each other.
So, why are they called The Piano Guys when there is a pianist and a cellist? Oh, and two other guys who are officially part of the group, so to speak? Well, it’s like this, see. It was all part of a social media strategy… Paul Anderson had a piano store called, you guessed it The Piano Guys. Jon Schmidt (the pianist of the group) came into the store to practice piano when he was in town. Paul asked Jon if he could film him and upload it to YouTube to share on Facebook and such to sell his pianos. Jon agreed. However, Paul saw a video Jon had uploaded of him and Steven Sharp Nelson (the cellist of the group), doing one of their mash-ups they are so famous for, which had received more than one million hits. He asked the two guys if they would allow him to make professional videos of them, which would be uploaded to YouTube and the store’s Facebook page, all to promote his store. Paul then brought in his neighbour, Al van der Beek (singer and music arranger) into the fold. They chose the craziest locations, places one would never expect to find a piano, to sell his pianos. Not a single piano was sold.
But.
A phenomenon was born. They blend classical and contemporary music which they put together as a “Mash-up”, i.e. The Mission’s Gabriel’s Oboe with How Great Thou Art – so beautiful. They did, thankfully, play this one while the video played in the background. Gorgeous.
They don’t limit themselves to this mix of genres. They do straight-up classical or straight-up jazz, as well. Jon played a beautiful solo piece he wrote when he was 17, called “Waterfalls”. Hard to believe he was 17 when he wrote it. Then Steven played his famous “The Cello” piece, as he calls it, by Bach, that he does for 8 cellos. I was wondering how he would manage to pull this one off as he cannot be on 8 different cellos at the same time in a live performance! He showed us with all his accessories. I must apologise for my video. I was trying not to disturb others, so I had my hands covering the screen and was trying to place the phone between the bars. Not quite so successful but voilà.
They played, they teased each other, they told their story. Then they brought out the two others. Al has quite a nice voice and he sang, “Okay”, getting the audience to sing along.
This is the type of concert where you half expect a rather sober experience. Or a slightly “stiff” one. So not the case! Julie said she thinks she laughed more with these two guys then at the “Just For Laughs” shows she went to!
You do not expect four grown men to run around a piano, plucking the strings, banging the cover against the back, three sets of hands on the keys, slapping the sides like a percussion instrument and such. I kinda wish I had taped it for you to see..
They brought in four local bagpipers to play “Fight Song”
Did one last “run around the piano piece” and took a final bow.
We were just so happy to have had the chance to see these wonderful performers and I highly recommend that you go if they come to your neck of the woods. It was an unforgettable experience.
Still talking about the show, we stepped outside of PdA, into the rain. Remember, we have twenty blocks or so to walk. Like two kids, instead of fifty-something broads, we gleefully just started walking, chatting away, laughing at those running – dudes! don’t bother! We got totally soaked. It was such a warm rain we didn’t care. A red light, a bus hut, a quick selfie and we laughed the rest of our way to our cars. A perfect night with a wonderful friend. Thanks, Jules! So glad you are my partner in culture and that Michael doesn’t mind me taking you away from him now and again!
I did promise there would be more to come and I do like to keep my promises.
Tuesday’s forecast called for rain but we sure were not going to let that determine what we could or couldn’t do. We had promised ourselves a hike on one of the many trails in the vicinity and hike we would. After a hearty frittata breakfast, to The Comeau Property, we went. A mere hop, step and a jump away from our Airbnb and right in the middle of Woodstock. Not what one would call a challenging hike but it was a very pleasant walk along the Sawkill Stream.
Arriving at the parking lot, we found a map of the trail, (Did I take a picture? Of course not!) So this one was snagged from the website.
See that map on the right panel? Yeah well… I dunno who was behind the design of the thing but it was confusing as all get-out! And bass-ackwards. We found the short trail – coz it was right there behind said “Info Centre”. The trail brought is immediately to the stream which seemed quite low. Hopping from one rock to another, we found ourselves right in the middle.
As we continued walking along the trail, the rain started, but the canopy of trees protected us. Besides, it didn’t last long. Before long, we realised we had gotten off the trail and found ourselves in the middle of a wide empty field. Or was it?
Is the coast clear?
Quick! They might see us!
Wait for me!!!!
How cool to see this family of deer racing past. Thank goodness I had time to switch my zoom lens and capture them! I know for some it is no big whup to come across deer in mid-day but for us, it was magical.
It’s funny, we kinda forgot we were in the middle of the Catskill Mountains until we turned around.
We returned to the woods and continued our walk, enjoying the quiet. It is summer season and we were amazed at how few people we encountered. One was some weirdo chatting away on his cell… You are surrounded by nature and instead of listening to the sounds provided by said nature, you gotta jibber-jabber on the phone? To each his own. We were glad when he was no longer in our vicinity.
We ended up back in the parking lot, looked at the map again, tried to figure out just where the second trail started… I did mention it was not exactly clear. We crossed the street and lo and behold! There it was!
We walked along the trail, a lovely carpet of dried leaves cushioning our feet, the daylight shining through gaps in the canopy. We could hear the water nearby and the trail led us to it from this side. Did I mention how calming and soul-filling these walks can be?
This trail was so much more. The water flowed stronger and the vista was enchanting.
Of course, I’m a bit of a rebel, so I totally trespassed (with proof I was the only one…)
We drove back “home” in the rain and M decided it would be grand to go for a run. By the way, there may have been some rumblings of thunder. Just sayin’. I, totally NOT a runner, especially not one in a storm, wished him well and stayed back to get ready for the movies. We had checked the local listing and decided to go for a short drive to see the afternoon viewing of “Oceans 8”, which we both enjoyed, along with a mega bucket of popcorn.
I had seen a video of a certain sandwich on the Facebooks and we decided to try it. I mean come ON… we already had my fab vodka mix; all we needed was to pick up a few more ingredients so I could make us “Bloody Mary Grilled Cheese”. We did not have the perfect bread (or a quick dip would have been better) but taste-wise? Yeah, baby! I am so doing these again.
The rain had stopped again and we decided to sit outside under the balcony for an early nightcap. We were blessed once again with a couple of visitors. Luckily I was able to capture this little guy.
And then this beauty.
This was turning into a fabulous getaway in the presence of most pleasant company, both the four-legged and two-legged kind.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, Live the life you’ve always imagined.
~ Henry David Thoreau
Without going into any woe-is-me sob story (which is not my style, anyway), many of you know there have been challenges sent my way over the years. I don’t think these events changed the way I already thought and acted or reacted, but maybe they just magnified the who that I am. I can tell you that they gave me the power to not be afraid of:
being alone (not that I want to remain so forever, but if I do, I will survive)
doing things by myself for myself
putting myself out there, either by writing or travelling or whatever opportunity presents itself.
Why have I gone on with this preamble of sorts? Because I must explain how the hell I ended up in Woodstock, baby! I cannot honestly say it was ever a destination on my “bucket list” (if I were to have one, that is). Yes, I adore the music of that time and love the idea that 400,000+ people could gather in the conditions that they were and not turn to violence… you know like rioters do now when their team friggen WINS…
Anyway.
Last February, I “met” a blogger on another blogger’s blog (say that ten times quickly 😉 ). We exchanged miles of comments until it was suggested by moi to chat elsewhere. Good thing because I am quasi-positive there is some sort of blog etiquette on hogging another’s comments section.
Our exchanges – via text, voice, video chat – occurred almost daily. We discovered that we had so many things in common and felt we could share pretty much any and everything. A true friendship was born. We started joking that it would be great to meet in person. Little snag was we lived about eight hours apart by car. Still. What about meeting half-way? Great. We did talk about New York City which would have had a coolness all its own though is not quite an even half-way point but I was willing to do the extra. Problem was, who in the name of all that is holy wants to go sweat in NYC in July? Besides, there was nothing available hotel-wise. So that was that.
Looking at maps, one place than another was suggested until he said: Why not Woodstock? A true half-way point for both of us, easy access, lots of places to stay plus the potential of visiting THE musical site of musical sites of all times…
It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves.
~ Carl Jung
And so, in May, Woodstock was booked. Now we had to wait until July 16th.
So. Far. Away.
Till it was here.
We had discussed the official meet-up, who would bring what – I was gonna introduce this Yank to Clamato… welcome him to the Canadian Bloody Caesar (rare are the Canucks who do Bloody Marys). Not only that, I was making my special “Garden mix” vodka. I warned him I would probably ruin him for future Bloody Marys… He was bringing beer and stuff that comes to mind when one thinks of Woodstock – and what we would do. We had checked out the surrounding areas and found there were various places to hike so that was definitely on our agenda. Plus, of course, visiting the venue.
We aimed to meet at the Airbnb for 1 pm on Monday. Excellent. We would then go for lunch to break the ice and then do some grocery shopping for some of our meals, eat in on Monday night and then go with the flow and the weather.
Yesterday’s just a memory, tomorrow is never what it’s supposed to be.
~ Bob Dylan
The morning was perfect. My bags had all been packed, the booze, the crepe mix, my clothes. According to Google Maps, if i Ieft by 8:15, I would arrive at my destination for 1. I left at 7:55. Got to the border at 8:50 – record time as there was zero traffic, stopped off at Duty Free for a coffee, some water bottles and made my way to the border itself. One car ahead of me. The border guy asked where I was going, of course, and wished me a fun time.
Set my cruise control to 118 kph (73 mph) because I am a lead-foot and need to be restrained and off I went. My first pleasant surprise was when I filled my gas tank. Down to 1/4 tank, I don’t mess around and stopped as soon as I could. I forgot that trick of using the three digits in my postal code and adding two zeros because the stupid gas tanks ask for a zip code… so I had to pay inside. The cashier asks me how much, so I say “fifty bucks”. She says not to worry, whatever amount I use is all I’ll be charged for… Cool. Press the lever and it pops at $23.38. What? Press again and a few cents’ worth is added. Holy moly! Or rather… FUCK! We pay way too much for gas in Quebec!! 3/4 of a tank would have cost me at least $45…
Continue on and arrive in Woodstock. GPS tells me to turn into the driveway and I can’t see the address but trust it. It is 12:55 and no one is there. Not even the owners. Hmmm… So I sit on the porch. It feels like it’s 100 degrees. I walk around and feel that maybe this isn’t right. Hmmm… I can’t remember there being a pool in the pics. I do remember 3 doors on the carriage house but don’t remember the colour. That should have been my first “Hello? may be at the wrong place?” Just as I am about to jump into my car and drive a bit further, I get a text. “I’m here.” I respond, “Me, too”. “Huh?”
Dumbass. I was at the house next door. Way to make a great first impression, Rogerson.
The Carriage House? Nope
The Main House, just not the right house
Drive into the nice and narrow drive where I was supposed to be…
The Carriage House
The Carriage House
The Main House
A smile and a nice long hug and a glad we made it, we left my stuff in my car because the house wasn’t ready for us. Using his car we made our way into town for lunch. Our chatter picked up exactly where it had left off the night before. We knew it. The comfort level was exactly what we had expected/hoped it would be.
We chose the Oriole 9 which had a fabulous selection of salads and sandwiches and beers… we were good! Enjoyed our lunch (I was starving), found a grocery store, picked up some items and back to the carriage house.
The sweet owners, Emy and James, were the perfect hosts, made sure we were well-connected to their smart TV and that we lacked for nothing – then we never saw them again! We connected to YouTube and focused on everything Woodstock. How neither one of us thought to do any research before hand is beyond us both. This turned out to be a good thing. We were able to absorb everything together. Cooking supper, enjoying each other’s company, watching videos. We were good.
And seriously, how ironic was it that we were there from July 16-19 and 49 years earlier, the famous concert of concerts was held August 15-18?
This past week – and I mean FULL week of seven days, we have had weather to rival any Caribbean country – say, like… Cuba! I’m talking a most disgusting average of 35°C (95°F) with that humidex factor making it feel like 45°C (115°F). What’s a girl to do? Continue on her search for that perfect Montreal version of the Cubano sandwich, of course. Her partner in crime, Julie, ever the willing participant, agreed to meet me today, Friday, on my day off. So what was today’s temp? 22°C (72°F) and it felt downright chilly! Now for us Quebecers, who start wearing shorts when it hits 15-16°C (60°F), – sooner for some locos – this may seem silly. But it has been hotter and muggier than the inside of Hades mouth so, this cool-down was quite the shocker. And me, wearing a sundress…
Now I know Linds B. and Marc, over at Sorryless are done with the whole Cubano Sammy thing but they did encourage me to keep on it. They apparently like when other peeps crash their party…
Right.
On my way to destination number two, I was struck by the sheer amount of garbage everywhere. You see, here in Quebec, the official moving day is July 1st. That means peeps are moving from one apartment to another and leaving shitloads of stuff behind. I’m thinking garbage day in the area I was driving through still had not come…
Destination number two was suggested to me by a friend whose boyfriend just so happens to be Cuban. He says other Cubans go there: Café Cubano, still on the outskirts of Little Italy but now, on Beaubien East Street. Traffic for Jules was horrendous, so I sat outside on a park bench in the sunshine (it was still warm, then). Then I took a few pics in preparation. Cute little brother and big sister skipped by. I was amused as it seemed everyone who passed by sounded French from France. Had me wondering what area I was in after all. Very residential with little business like this one on the ground floor and apartments above.
Residential Area
Café Cubano
Julie arrives and we pick a table. Always a good sign when the other patrons speak the lingo. We get the menus and I see that the Cuban Sandwich is NOT there. And yet, when I Googled it, it was. Hmmm…. I ask the waiter if they do do Cubanos and he says, get this: “Not today”. What? “I am sorry, tomorrow you can have some. Today we cook the pork and it takes hours. There are none today.”
Fuck.
Looked at Julie and said, “What to do now? I am on a Cubano Sammy search.” She agrees we need to find another place so here we are sitting in this restaurant, with our glasses of water we dare not touch, Googling for other restaurants in the vicinity.
We come upon La Bodeguita de Montréal on St. Laurent Street, a 7-minute drive away. We decide to go with just my car – why look for two parking spots? While I’m driving, Jules says.. “Hmmm.. their Facebook page says it’s closed.” Dammit. On the Google page, it says Fridays it is open from noon. We keep going, not knowing who to trust. We get there. Door is locked.
Fuck.
More Googling, and by now, our stomachs are starting to auto-digest and we need us some grub. We do NOT want to drive to downtown as that will take us a good 23-40 minutes. Julie finds one on Park Avenue – but it’s a Mexican joint! BUT the comments on whatever site she is looking at says you MUST try the Cuban Sandwich.
We need no further reason. What a fabulous find! Lemme tell you, Linds and Marc, if I decide to crash your taco party, Imma go back to this spot called Ta Chido on Park Avenue.
Colourful, joyful, smell of fresh bread cooking, kitschy as all get-out, we are charmed immediately. Screw the Cubano, if we must. By now it is quite cool and we choose to sit inside. Then move to outside. I did NOT know there exists some Mexican Heavy Metal… Thankfully it was playing pretty low (so wish I had Shazamed it 😉 )
I have to share some of the decor with you…
Outside Ta Chido
Too much
Where the bread magic happens
A Little Day of the Dead
Kitsch to a whole ‘nother level
Partners in Crime
Okay, I’ve made you wait enough, haven’t I? Let’s get to serious bidness. As we were starving, we ordered a bowl of guacamole with the usual chips and chicháronnes. We stuck with water for today.
I explain to our waitress – sweetest gal ever – that I am on a Cubano mission and though I realise that this is a Mexican place, they do have what they call a Cubano… She says: “Well that is what WE call it too. But.. I am so sorry to tell you, we are out of jamón.”
Sigh.
Julie suggests we get two different sandwiches and share. And frankly, that is a great idea. So, Jules gets the “Tinga de pollo” – pulled chicken sautéed with onions and chipotle peppers, mayo, black bean spread, avocado, tomatoes, sour cream and feta cheese.
And I had the “Cubana” – breaded beef cutlet, pulled pork and ham (though there was none), mayo, cheese, black bean spread, avocado, tomatoes and caramelized onions.
Julie found the chicken needed some oomph and was glad to pour on the jalapeño sauce that was brought to the table. I agree.
The “Cubano” had nary a Cubano element… but was very tasty for me.
We are 0 for 2 in the authentic Cubano search.
However. After some discussion, and poor Julie stillhas no idea what a real Cubano is…I give it a solid 6/10. Why so high when there were only two elements in the sammy?
That bread. That bread was so bloody divine, I cared not one whit that it had never seen the inside of a press. So good, in fact, that Imma go aaaaalllll the way there to buy some to make MY OWN Cubanos… And for my celiac friends, they also make gluten free… though I would check out the facilities to make sure there is no cross-contamination. I didn’t go look, to tell the truth.
The pulled pork was tasty, as was that piece of beef and caramelized onion. Avocados are a favourite ingredient of mine and pretty much end up in all of my sandwiches.
The chicháronnes were light and crunchy and addictive. the guacamole was delicious with just the right amount of smooth and chunk.
We felt we had made quite the discovery after all the shenanigans of finding a bloody place to eat. Plus, Julie still wants to be my cohort for the next run. Win-Win-Win.
As a result…
A little extra “blah-blah-blah” as our day was not done…
Traffic was gonna be crap for both of us, so we decided to go to the Marché Jean Talon to browse all the wonderful produce, get inspired for supper – right, like I was gonna eat supper – and maybe flirt with Frank from Birri Farms. (What? He’s gorgeous, Italian, single and such a flirt…)
On our way there, as we were approaching a stop light, I was pointing out a restaurant we had talked about when BANG! I got hit from behind. WTF? Both of us were stunned. I got out of the car and the guy behind got out of his apologising profusely. First thing he asked was if were we hurt, then we checked our cars. Mine had nothing, his, a cracked bumper. I asked him if he wanted to fill out papers and he declined (I might add his car was a clunker). Asked again if we were okay, apologised again and we were on our way. We turned at the next street and pulled over to really check. Nothing. We both felt it in our necks – a light case of whiplash. I know we are going to feel it tomorrow or the next day.
“We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything, than when we are at play.”
― Charles E. Schaefer
As much as I went on about being “lazy” the other day’s post, Saturday I definitely took advantage of all that was offered to me. To hell with house-work, garden-work, work-work.
Though I had gone to bed at 2 a.m. (thank you, Linda for keeping me up late regaling me with your fabulous three months in Italy – I would call you names in jealousy but I cannot as I am so happy for you to have done this trip all by yourself) and woke up at 4 a.m. with a sudden sneezing/runny nose fit (I swear, it felt like a bug had gone up my nose and planted a cold there, with no gentle warning signs), I was up and at ’em at 8:30-ish, though I had at least another half-hour before my alarm went off to prepare for a day of sailing with my friend, Jean-Louis. He has a lovely 25′ sailboat that he keeps at Pointe-Claire Marina. By the time I did the stuff I had to do, I ended up leaving the house by 9:50 instead of 9:30. Texted him to let him know I was on slo-mo and got a response of “no problem”. He lives a hop, step and a jump from the marina so no biggie for him. Turns out it was a good thing as the little tender they offer to get you to your mooring doesn’t start until 10:30 anyway.
We gathered all our stuff and climbed aboard. Lovely boat indeed. I was suddenly brought back over twenty-five years ago on my father’s sailboat “Footloose”. Many happy memories attached to that beautiful Bayfield.
I knew we were gonna have some fun when I noted the sign just inside the cockpit… and J-L poured his home-made sangria into these insane 32 oz thermal glasses…
Cocktail Hour
Cocktails
So we left the marina in Pointe-Claire around11 a.m. and wanted to go all the way to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, which is the most western tip of Montreal Island. Both towns are part of the area known as the West Island (or as I like to call it, the Waste Island 😉 ) The wind was not the best and since we had some time restraints, we decided to motor out, knowing we would be able to make our way back by sail. We had to stop in Beaconsfield (half-way) for gas and then continued on our way.
Jean-Louis really knows this lake, called Lake Saint-Louis, pointing out various areas. When we were across the way from Dany and Giselle’s hometown of Notre-Dame-de-l’ïle-Perrot, I texted them sending them a picture with a “Hey! I’m in your back yard!
View of Île Perrot
Apologies for the crappy picture. I stupidly did not bring my real camera and, as nice a pics are with my phone, they suck big time when it comes to zooming, not so fabulous.
We had to “drive” through a canal – the water is so very high right now…
And finding parking… who’d a thunk it would be such a bitch to find parking for a boat?
We went through, turned around, went towards one slot but didn’t like it as it was on the point of the bay and would have had a helluva time with the currents, realised a space had opened up and got a great spot!
Some peeps hang out in groups so they can raft up.
We had lunch in a new restaurant called Taverna, a blend of Greek and Italian cuisines. Sitting on the terrace, we froze our buns off but the food was decent.
Heading back, we had a good wind right behind us, so Jean-Louis opted for his genoa sail. We flew all the way home.
Many beautiful homes and St-Joachim Parish of Pointe-Claire – a church that actually faces the water instead of the street: originally built in 1713, replaced in 1750-1755, a third church was added between 1868-1881, the whole thing destroyed by fire in 1881. The one we see now, was consecrated in 1885.
I needed to be back at the marina by five o’clock, latest, so I could take a shower and make my way to St. Lazare where friends were meeting for pizza before a benefit concert at Bar Chez Maurice to raise funds for palliative care for a local organisation. Four bands participated but we were most interested in Cinema V – friends of ours being members.
The other bands were CHESS, RUSTY (with Cinema V guitarist) and LIKWID (with Cinema V guitarist, bassist and singer).
Each band played a 45 minute set with a 30 minute break and set-up for the next one.
So… little history lesson… Dany (drummer) and I were prom dates waaaaay back in 1981! For those of us who have been following me for a while, you’ve seen pictures of Dany, his wife, Giselle, and a few more of us. We’ve always kept in touch but, in the last three years, more effort has been made.
How cute are we?
1st couple to be introduced
A few years after we dated, the band won a competition with the local rock station CHOM 97.7 and went to Japan… how cool is that? Ya gotta love that ’80’s look…
Cinema V John, Marcello, Nigel, Dany, Radford
Now, all in their 50’s (just recently for you, Rad!) – all have aged rather well, if I do say so myself!
John, Marcello, Nigel, Dany, Radford
‘Course, I had to zoom in a bit on Dany…
As “groupie-wife”, Giselle, all sparkly-eyed, basked in her husband’s prowess… I kept trying to catch her as she watched Dany but I swear, that woman sees a camera, she instantly turns and smiles…
I figure I’ll end this little ramble with a snippet of one of Cinema V’s original songs…
To think they hadn’t played together in 26 years!
A few of the 10,000 things that make me happy and grateful
Music concerts with friends
Sunshine and wind on my face
Sailing – had so missed it
Taking the whole day to do stuff just for me
Going to bed with ears still ringing from the musical night
