Skip to main content

Our Metro Adventure

During our visit Uncle Cooker-Chef’s restaurant in Montreal a few weeks ago, another adventure was had: Benjamin and Nicholas traveled on the commuter train and metro into downtown. Never, in the history of life, have two kids been more excited about taking public transport!

Both my parents and Pierre’s dad live close to the commuter train. Benjamin and Nicholas have seen it go for years, with each visit at Christmas and during the summer. This past December the begging to take the train rose to Richter-scale proportions. Now, standing out on a train platform in the middle of winter is not my idea of a fun time. So, as a compromise, Pierre and I promised the boys that, come the summer, we would take the train for a visit with Uncle Cooker-Chef. I’ve learned to never make a promise that I can’t keep. My bugs never, ever forget.  

My mom and Pierre’s dad joined us as we made our way downtown, first by train – a double-decker (thank goodness for small miracles), then by metro. Every adventure is made better when you add grandparents. Benjamin and Nicholas loved the train, in all its rumbling, swaying glory. I’m not even sure that love is a strong enough word. There really as no words to convey how small boys feel about big, loud, dirty machinery (just wait until I blog about Grandpa’s backhoe!). My conductors loved sitting in the backward-facing seats, pointing out all the sights as the train rolled along its tracks.

But, the train was small potatoes as compared to the metro. A train that goes underground? Fast? FOR REAL?! NO WAY!!Now, I don’t know about you, but I despise the metro. I have metro-phobia. During my four-years at McGill I avoided the metro with every fiber of my being,  preferring to make the (six block? seven block?) walk up and down Peel Street to  and from Windsor Station everyday. Even in the middle of a Montreal January. For me, freezing each and very extremity on my body was preferable to braving the metro. My avoidance of the metro was so extreme that it was by complete and utter chance that Pierre and I ran into each other in the Vendome Station more than 12 years ago leading to, well, all of this.

Benjamin and Nicholas do not share my dislike of the metro. More big, loud, dirty – very dirty – machinery? Little boy bliss. 

IMG_0069

Now, I’ll (begrudgingly) admit that the metro system is a pretty ingenious way to move loads of people around the city, quickly. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. The boys like it more than enough for me.

We rounded-off the trip with a walk under the highway back to home.

IMG_0067

Benjamin and Nicholas looked for Grandpa’s trolls. None were found. Whew.

xo Naomi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Funny Medicine

So, after blogging about Ben’s ear infection, a good friend messaged me on Facebook with a unique remedy for ear pain. She’s had a ruptured eardrum, so if she says that this works, I’m inclined to believe her. Here’s the message: “If Ben complains about pain, take an onion and mash it as you would a potato. Then, wrap it in something and heat it in the microwave till it’s hot (not hot like I'll burn you if I touch it, but hot). Take it out of the microwave and wrap it in a towel (don't worry you can wash it out after), put it on a pillow and then have Ben put his sore ear on it. When he no longer feels the heat, move a piece of towel away so he is one layer closer to the onion.” What do you think? Neat, eh? My pediatrician recommended a few drops of olive oil in the ear to ease pain. I’ve tried it with Ben, and it seemed to give him some relief. I’m going to try the onion. Why not? It’s an alternative that just might work. And I think that Ben would find it kind of fun to put...
7 comments
Read more

Here we go….

I’ve been wanting to start a blog for a while now. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about starting it, talking about starting it, tinkering with the layout (and that was hard because I am basically a computer-dummy), and now, writing it. Is anyone actually going to read what I write on here? Maybe. Well….my mom will read it (Hi Mom!). Regardless, I do have a purpose to starting this, and here it is: Deciding to be a mom was one the very best decision that I have ever made (second only to marrying Pierre), and I want to share that. The time spent being home with my boys goes by so fast. Ok….let’s rephrase that….actual days can seem endless (and there are definitely times when I call Pierre at work, and tell him not to dare come home without wine. Or chocolate. Or both!!), but still each day, each week, seems to be going by faster and faster. I blinked and my youngest went from being a baby to turning three years old this coming Tuesday. And the next time I blink he’ll be thirty-three!...
4 comments
Read more

A Brother’s Love

The boys had ice-cream for dessert tonight. In fact, not only did they have ice-cream, they had an ice-cream sundae with whipped cream and strawberries, a special treat as only Grandma can make. Spoiled little bugs. Just as my two sweet-toothed monkeys were about to dig-in, Grandpa, being “the silliest” as Nicholas calls him, pulled a fast one. Taking Nicholas’ bowl of ice-creamy-yumminess, Grandpa said: “Mmmm-mmmm. That’s my ice cream, Nicholas. Thank you!” And he pretended to gobble up the bowl. Nicholas was not impressed. He stuck-out his bottom lip, and gave a somewhat convincing fake cry while burying his little head in his chair. I wouldn’t have awarded him an Oscar for this particular performance, but his point was clear enough: Grandpa had his ice cream, and he wasn’t going to let it be eaten without protest. Now Benjamin, watching all this unfold, had a very different reaction. His big, blue eyes welled up with tears, not of the crocodile variety, his face cru...
4 comments
Read more