Philadelphia Mini-Menagerie

While in Philadelphia I'm living on the top floor of the Philadelphia row house recently purchased by my classmate Bret and his lovely wife Emily. It has been much work, as the previous owners weren't too sharp on the upkeep front, but quite fun. I've learned about drills and crowbars and caulking. We're going to knock down some walls in the winter: big fun.

Apart from Bret and Em, the house is also occupied by a couple animals.

Lena. She's outgoing, very chatty, and quite large (she has a slow metabolism... it's genetic... her parents and siblings all have big bones too).

Etta. An extremely large turtle, Etta belonged to the previous owners, who opted to leave her at the house, even though they had lived with her for twenty years! (These people were strange...) Bret and Emily aren't entirely sure how they feel about Etta yet. She has free range of the first floor, wandering around like some kind of triassic cat. Her favorite things to do are to wallow in her water tray, relax inside a rolled up rug (yet another cast-off from the previous owners), and sit on top of the wireless router (pictured). Right now she's on notice: she pooped three times on the floor instead of in the water like she is supposed to. Any more strikes against her and she might be relegated to the role of 'yard turtle' instead of 'house turtle'.

Philthy Philadelphia

Rest assured: all is well, I've just been extremely busy relocating, graduating, helping renovate a house, and starting a new job - I'm a post graduate fellow! I'm paid! And have benefits!

Walkabout: Quebec

The final part of the Walkabout, before the packing of my stuff in the CanadaHouse, was up to Quebec (City). Mum welcomes you to Old Quebec!

Looking down onto one of the main streets from on top of the fortifications.

You thought this city was adorable in the winter? It is just as charming in the summer. And you don't need snow boots to enjoy it!

Looking off the cliffs, over the lower city, at the Saint Lawrence.

Funicular! Mum did not want to ride. She wanted to hide in the back, but luckily for us, the four of us were the only people on that particular ride down, so we got an excellent view!

In the lower city.

Mum, Ynn, Tank, and Champlain brave the winds off of the river.

There is a lovely promenade running past the Chateau Fronteac along the Saint Lawrence.

Walkabout: Montreal

By nature, a Walkabout involves moving from place to place. Our Walkabout plan was to spend some time in Ottawa, take a day and visit Montreal, and then head further north to Quebec (City) for a couple days. I really like Montreal, but as Quebec is so extremely charming and as our Walkabout had a tight time frame, I figured it would be best to enjoy Montreal as we passed through, on the way to Quebec.

Bonjour, Montreal!

I like to visit churches. Good thing Mum/Ynn/Tank does too.

Basilique Notre-Dame in Vieux Montreal.

And cupcakes at the cupcake shop Mark and I visited!