The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
The Piano Tuner
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Strawberry Fields by Marina Lewycki
Baby Proof by Emily Giffin
Angels by Marian Keyes
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas
Fall on your knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
The Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Lost Hearts in Italy by Andrea Lee
Late Nights on Air by Canadian author Elizabeth Hay
Saturday by Ian McEwan
We are planning to check out a couple of the films this year..Portugal and Spain look good. See the link here
Yolanda and Paco and their little girl, Vega, visited us in Ottawa this September. They came from Madrid, Spain. This was their 4th trip to Canada. We had a great time catching up and getting to know Vega. Marc and I both think she is pretty great. We hung out at the apartment, took them to our favourite neighbourhood italian spot, Il Vagabondo, and met up for lunch. They went to Nova Scotia for a week after Ottawa and then back to Madrid. See more pics here.
Marc and Dave have been talking about doing a canoe trip down Tay River, very close to Dave and Shirl's (our next door neighbours) cottage (on Crosby Lake, near Perth). So, they did it! Shirl and I followed them in the car. It was a rainy day. So, they started off, did ok, then the river bottomed out. There was not enough water to go further. Good thing Shirl and I were following them in the car to pick them up. We went back to rest at the cottage for the remainder of the rainy afternoon. Dave and Shirl made us a beautiful dinner and gave us tips for a road trip through France, Spain (potential honeymoon trips). We also did a Canadian trivia quiz. I totally lost. Next day, Dave took us out in his boat to tour Crosby Lake. Marc and I went for a swim in the lake before getting back to city life. We had a great time, as always. Check out beautiful Ontario wildlife...here
Mom and Dad hosted a beautiful engagement party for us in June in Leamington. There were about 50 people there: friends from my childhood; family; neighbours. We had a great time and I was able to introduce Marc to some important people in my life. It was also an opportunity to talk to people about the upcoming wedding. There was a ton of food; good company and drink. Thanks mom and dad. See pics here.
Ava Cowan came into the world in June. She is the little baby girl of my brother Michael and his wife Kelly. We were so lucky to get to meet her when we were visiting Leamington in June. She was later than expected to come out into the world, but she made it. We are so happy for Michael and Kelly. See more of this lovely little baby here.
En route to Leamington this summer, Marc and I stopped off at Bruce Peninsula for a camping trip. We were amazed at the amount of wildlife we saw...birds, a beaver!, snakes, fish...it may have been the time of year, but I don't think I've seen so much wildlife in Canada. We also took a night tour to better understand nature once the sun goes down. We learned about frogs, fireflies and had the semi-creepy experience of walking alone through a stretch of pathway at night by ourselves. Bruce Peninsula is breathtaking. I loved the rocky terrain and the crystal waters...I kind of felt like I was on a Greek island. The campsite was ok, we ended up next to a creek, which is not so nice when it comes to mosquitoes. We also received a visit by a raccoon at midnight which scared the pants off both of us. Check out more of our beautiful country here.
Marc and I went to Winnipeg for a few days to celebrate Marc's godson, Isaac's baptism. Marc is Isaac's ninong (Phillipino for godfather)...After several mafia-related godfather jokes, Marc held his new godson. We also got to visit with Marc's mom and brother, Danny and also meet Sasha, our new niece. She looked super healthy and beautiful. It was a short visit, but a nice chance to catch up and talk about the wedding. Click here for some more pics.
This May, my friend Tanya and I took a trip to the Mayan Riviera, Mexico for a week. I had never tried an all-inclusive resort before, so I was game to give it a go. My sister, a travel agent, helped us find the right spot. We decided on Riu Tequila, one of the "Club" resorts, known for its discotheque. Since Tanya and I love to dance, we thought it would be a good fit. We were impressed with the resort. The food was excellent; the pool was amazing; Tanya enjoyed the tequila shots; I enjoyed the margaritas. We absolutely loved the shows, which were performed every night (Casino show, Horror show, Mexican traditional dance)...we missed out on the Moulin Rouge show. 
One last time to Vienna this spring for the UN Crime Commission meeting. This time, I was there for 10 days. One of our friends from the UN who is from Poland, Slawomir, took us to Slovakia for the afternoon and evening. He also took us to see the Opera: "The Elixir of Love". An italian opera involving a poor boy who tried to convince the woman he loved to love him back by drinking this elixir punch. She soon caught on that he went to such extremes to win her love and she totally took the bait. They lived happily ever after. I googled the story before hand, since the whole thing was in italian with german translation. The opera house was quaint, small, very simple. I loved it. Slovakia is quite charming. We went to a little place called Lumbach where we dined and I bought some white wine. I have to say the white wine is marvelous. We opened a bottle the other night, and I was loving it. I also worked of course. We worked hard day and night. I took the final Saturday to visit the Belvedere and also hang out with some UN friends for lunch. That's me and Slawomir in the photo at the Opera House. Here are some more pics.
It has been SO long since I updated. I am going to have to rack my brain for memories. We were in Leamington for Easter this year. We went to church on Good Friday, visited my Grandmas, and had a beautiful and busy Sunday with the family. My sister's kids are at a really fun stage. We played charades and guitar hero. I took many photos with my DSLR. Click here for photos.
Marc and I visited our neighbour's cottage one week-end this past winter and we went cross-country skiing. The conditions were not 100%. It was actually a bit too warm and the snow was sticky. Nevertheless, it was my first time trying and I did ok. I fell many many times. There were some semi-scary hills. Marc fell many times. And Dave fell once. Dave and Shirl's cottage is so lovely. We love visiting them. Please see more photos here.
In October, I went to New York to work at the United Nations General Assembly for a few days. Besides working super long days, I had an opportunity to visit with Mark and Karen, some friends who recently moved to New York and are living it up NY style. They took me to an awesome restaurant called Bone Lick Park, where 5 Canadians managed to drink 17 margaritas in a 2 hour time span. We then moved along to Florent, a French restaurant where we dined and partook in further alcoholic consumption. And I magically had another birthday at Florent...don't know who authorized that. Thanks to Mark and Karen for being such lovely hosts. I had a great time! Only one picture turned out...the rest were pretty blurry, I think it was the margaritas.
Who says Cleopatra doesn't have a thing for doctors in military fatigues?
As if we didn't get enough portaging in July, we decided to risk the September temperatures and go canoe camping in Algonquin. This time, we brought along a bigger crew. The weather held up for us, thank god. We took a different route this time, relaxed more and enjoyed the sunshine. We had an amazing Moroccon couscous one night, and a couple of people on the team risked their lives jumping off a cliff. We watched.
