Ellasar

Finally got to an ice hockey match. The local team is called Ottawa Senators. They were playing their arch rivals Toronto maple Leafs on the day we went. Meagan won the tickets where she works so when she came home Colm hit her over the head and I grabbed her bag with the tickets inside...and off we went to the match:) With Toronto only being around 4 hours from Ottawa (which is only a hop and a skip in Canada) there were loads of Maple Leaf fans in the stadium which made for a great Great atmosphere. Turns out Toronto wins 5-0 which was crazy since Ottawa are one of the best teams. Still great time had by all. ps: Meagan's concussion cleared after a few days. Unfortunately she is experiencing some short term memory......sweet:) ! ... read more

Well with Ottawa keeping to a consistently cool -10degrees over the past few weeks Meagan and I decided to head to Toronto where the weather has been keeping to a consistently cool -5degrees....it was like a summer holiday! Also Colm's sister Roisin lives there.... Fortunately Colm couldn't come due to work commitments (did I leave an "Un" out of that last sentence somewhere?). Thus myself and Meagan headed off on the Friday. With Train and Bus tickets costing around $100 each we decided to take advantage of a handy if not slightly "end up on a milk carton" idea they have in Canada called Ride Share. This goes along the line that people are traveling between cities so often, generally with work, that they offer folks who just want to visit these cities a lift at ... read more

A very Happy New Year to everyone!!!! ps: a blog will soon follow detailing some dodge skiing over the christmas period.......... read more

Well logically the next trip to follow Canada was.....Cuba....naturally! I was thinking the same thing but Lonely Planet got there before me with a great description of Cuba... "Controversial and just a bit conflicted, Cuba is a nation like no other rhythmic, colorful, sophisticated and whimsical all in one sumptuous breath." A quick History...... In 1933 a group of army officers, including army sergeant Fulgencio Batista (nasty facist man), overthrew President Gerardo Machado. Batista became president in 1940, running a corrupt police state with the help of the US Mafia. In 1956, Fidel Castro Ruz launched a revolution from his camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains. Castro's brother Raul and Ernesto (Ché) Guevara (Irish roots in Galway), an Argentine physician, were his top lieutenants. Many anti-Batista landowners supported the rebels. The U.S. ended military aid to ... read more

Hi All, Well after a couple of great days lazing around Ottawa city we headed up north to Meagan's home place of "Sur la Rouge". From the name alone you can see we entered the province of Qubec (best known for having way too many French people) Of course they are fake French but they get angry when you imply this so it's better to avoid this line of conversation. Meagan's home place is stunning. Once off the highway the route is along a windy forest road with the sur la rouge river following us all the way. To say her house is remote is an understatement!! My neighborhood in Donegal seems like a city compared to this place. The main idea behind the trip was to head to a place called Tremblant which is around ... read more