ross and nicky take on the world...part deux

Thursday, 7 June 2012

Waterfalls, Drum Circles, and Chairs in the Sky!

Just a quick update with our latest adventures that have been keeping us busy here in the land called Buffalo.

Letchworth State Park
A few weekends back we took a day trip to a state park called Letchworth which is fondly known as "The Grand Canyon of the East" - though when we arrived we discovered that to be a little bit of an overstatement. Nevertheless the park was beautiful in its own way and we enjoyed a hike and the many beautful cascading waterfalls as well as a stop at a local ice creamery with 50 flavors of soft serve!!

Walking the hike between the three falls

At the largest falls

Over 50 flavors of soft serve!!

Montreal
Over memorial day weekend Ross and I took the opportunity to venture a little farther and we spent the weekend in Montreal. The (7 hour!) drive was pleasant in our little Chevy Cruze and we arrived on Friday evening at 10pm to a very vibrant downtown Montreal. We were lucky enough to stay with a friend from Tasis (thanks Kimon!) and so while we waited to meet up with him we enjoyed an amazing crepe at my new found favorite restaurant on earth - Juliette et Chocolat.

The Crepe "Madness" - I dont think its mad at all really

We spent the weekend exploring the city and were able to see and enjoy so many things! Montreal happens to be the birthplace of Cirque Du Soleil and while we were there they were hosting the world premiere of their newest show "Amaluna". We were able to snag tickets on the Saturday afternoon we were strolling around Old Town and it was enthralling, I have never been to Cirque Du Soleil before and was amazed by what a performance it is! That evening we met up with friends for dinner albeit late thanks to the potbangers (students protesting the possible tuition hikes).

Inside the Basilica Notre Dame in Old Town

Cirque Du Soleil!!

A sneaky shot from inside right before the man told me to put the camera away :)

The "potbangers" slowing our arrival at dinner

Sunday we walked to the park with bagels to watch the local entertainment - the Tam Tam jam which is a drum circle who plays regularly, and of course the group of people Larping. Need I say it was awesome. We then hired Bixi which is this great bike system they have throughout the city and we explored some more on bikes - for those of you who know my biking abilities you will realize this was a great feat for me. We biked into the Latin Quarter to see an "art exhibition" we had heard was taking place, and lo and behold there they were - grannies and grandpas sitting in chairs on the sides of buildings! (See pics below) It was meant to show the beauty and simplicity of old age and was quite a site! We then headed back to Old Town to enjoy some poutine which is a must when in Quebec. Monday morning came too quickly and we had to hit the road for our drive back, but not before enjoying fresh baked goods and taking some baguettes for the road!

The Tam Tam Jam

What is that in the sky - why its just a granny and granpa chilling

This man is changing his shoes

Poutine!

Look mom - pigs ears! Reminds me of the dentist!

General
As far as other things go, Ross and I have just started our marathon training this week and so far so good - although we'll see if we're singing the same tune in week 16. We hosted our "house warming" which was great as the weather was perfect for an outdoor barbecue and have also made a trip to the Alright Knox Art Gallery which was surprisingly good! I have still been doing yoga frequently and have begun to volunteer at an after school program here which is keeping me occupied. I leave for Tasis in 10 days where my brother will join me and I am excited to be passing the Tasis torch on to him. Ross is heading back to Colorado for the fourth of July break and is looking forward to Kays, Ribs, seeing Hank, and family time among other things. Then he returns to work for a few weeks and then will be taking his "core" vacation and joining me at Tasis for 2 weeks. After Tasis I will travel with Brendon to Spain and Portugal and then head back to the land they call Buffalo.

I think that is all the news we have so far, until next time!

Sunday, 22 April 2012

A bit of this a bit of that

So quite a few things have happened since the last time I posted on here:

Apartment:
We have moved into an apartment in Buffalo and live in a really nice neighborhood called Elmwood Village. The move proved interesting as the couch we have could not fit up the stairs! Thankfully my friend Kristiina offered to swap couches while we are here so we rented a Uhaul and two men to help us swap couches - all in a day in the life of a wife of an International Manager I guess! The apartment is great, I am able to walk to yoga and there is a main street with coffee shops and stores just around the corner. Below are some photos of our apartment.

New York City:
So the day after we signed our lease Ross received a phone call asking him how soon he could be in New York City, and then the next day he was on a plane. Since he had to be in New York City for work for about a month I joined him a week later (after the couch fiasco). We stayed in a really nice central location and were able to pretty much walk everywhere.

Me driving the U-Haul

I took the opportunity to play tourist and was able to get tickets to see the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as well as the Dave Letterman Show. I spent quite a fair amount of my time in lines but it was worth it since the tickets are free and it was really interesting to see whats happening behind the scenes of the shows. Ross and I had been wanting to see the Book Of Mormon (musical) for quite a while so one day I went to the theatre and stood for 3 and a half hours for standing room tickets to the show. I also entered the lottery they hold everyday before the show but there were about 200 other people entered in that and to no avail. I managed to get the second last set of standing room tickets to that evenings show which started in less than an hour so I called Ross to come and meet me and then I frantically crammed down a Big Mac :) The show was hilarious and worth the wait and the tired feet.

We also took the opportunity to see as many friends in New York as we could and were able to meet them at different Anthony Bourdain restaurant recommendations around the city.

The new World Trade Center

The memorial for 9/11

Anniversary dinner at "Braai" the South African restaurant in NYC

Lunch at the famous Katz Deli

Central Park stroll

Mexico:
I came back to Buffalo a week before Ross to get the apartment unpacked before leaving for a family wedding in Mexico. We spent the week in Sayulita, roughly 40 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta. We stayed with Ross' family and had an amazing week suntanning, ATVing, zip lining, eating, and of course - margarita drinking.

Eating a delicious shrimp burrito upon arrival

Our resident Iguana "Sanchez" looking after us

The amazing house we stayed in

The delicious "Chocobanana"

Ross embracing the local trends

Pretty darn funny

Our fishing vessel being pushed into the water

Me catching a Pelican

The wedding was absolutely beautiful and took place on the beach with the reception following on a cliff top where there were hand rolled cigars and fresh made churros.

Shaking the Maracas at the wedding

Cigar rolling station

Churros!

We wish it didn't have to come to an end so quickly but Ross and I made sure to eat as many fish tacos as possible while we were there.

And Now:
We are back in Buffalo and have taken a day trip to Ikea to get some essentials (Ross worst nightmare) and have been hanging out with friends. I have been trying out new recipes from my favorite cookbooks (Jamie Oliver) and have been continuing with my yoga. We are planning to have a belated house warming party but are waiting for a nice warm weekend as we have an outdoor barbecue area we'd like to use. Teaching jobs in Buffalo are few and far between but I will be returning to work at the summer camp in Switzerland this year where my brother will be joining me, and Ross for a few weeks!

Thats all for now ~ till next time!

Thursday, 16 February 2012

Ross First Post

We are well overdue for an update so let me try to back up...

Colorado:

After hanging in New Zealand for 3 months, Ross and I returned to the States to spend some time in Colorado. I was able to reach out to my old school and somehow landed a long term substitute position in the same grade and subject as I was teaching last year. Meanwhile Ross was still waiting to hear what HSBC had in store for us. Just as we were beginning to say "well its nearly Christmas so we won't hear anything until the New Year", HSBC contacted Ross and informed him he would be starting a short term position in Buffalo the following week, wah wah wah - not quite the glamourous first posting we had anticipated. We were able to enjoy Thanksgiving in Breckenridge with great company, lots of food, and even a few days of skiing before Ross left for Buffalo, New York. I did not accompany him right away as I wanted to finish my subbing position, so it was off to the Hampton Inn for Ross and again we were living in two separate states. Ross returned for Christmas with the family which was wonderful and included Oma visiting from Chicago. I finished the substitute position and met Ross in New York City for New Years. We spent the weekend seeing old friends and enjoying walking the ever entertaining streets all day long. I then returned with Ross to our new temporary home - Buffalo.

Enjoying a beautiful day at Breckenridge

Fun at Fox Meadow Middle School

A full thanksgiving belly and a day of skiing

Ouma opening gifts Christmas day

Hank planking

Occupy Wall Street - unimpressive

New Zealand bar in NYC

Delicious pork buns in NYC!

Buffalo:

We arrived to a snowy, blizzardy Buffalo (which I had been warned about), and made our way to our home - 'Downtown Buffalo Hampton Inn'. When I was younger I had always imagined that "I should like to live in a hotel - I would never get bored of it" - that is no longer the case! The novelty soon wears off and living out of a suitcase becomes tiresome. I decided to join a local yoga studio to keep myself entertained as we were under the illusion that we were only going to be in Buffalo until Jan 27th. Well a week before Jan 27th Ross received the congratulatory email informing him his position here in Buffalo was being extended until Dec 31st. Since hearing this news I signed down for a 30 day challenge at yoga, started apartment hunting, and began applying for teaching positions. So far, so good - I am on day 25 of the 30 day yoga challenge, have found an apartment in a really nice area called Elmwood and we should be moved in at the latest by March 1st, so now it is just the job front.

Ross is keeping really busy at work, he is working on a project that seems never-ending, but happy to be working nevertheless. As he is working at the airport location we have a car, so that has allowed us to take weekend trips. We have been to Toronto for a weekend, Niagara Falls, Niagara-On-The-Lake to do some wine tasting, and St. Jacobs to see the farmers market... all in Canada - the border security even commented on it today!

Ross and I have enrolled for the Chicago Marathon which is in October so we are going to start a training program soon - yikes!

Now that I have debuted a post on here I will try to ensure not so much time goes by again between posts :)