"Life imitates art far more than art imitates life". Oscar Wilde I heard from my girls that it snowed in Ottawa. I have to say, we've had really nice weather since we got here Saturday morning. It's been sunny and up around 10C as a high. Today is the exception with it being a bit overcast & spitting rain. Further to our tour yesterday, all & all it was fantastic. We bought a two day "hop on & hop off" bus tour called L'Open Tour which runs four different routes of the city. This time of year there's lots of room to hop on the bus, so to speak. Yesterday we did the "green tour" which is the main leg of the tour taking in the Louvre, Palais Royal, Concord, Musee D'Orsay, Notre Dame Cathedral, Latin ... read more

It's been a day of sight-seeing, and we're just settling in. I will send a more in-depth update when I download my pics. In the meantime, hello Al (xo) and for the rest of you "romantics" out there who want to be transported to Paris, then take a minute to click on the link below & have a listen to Claude Debussy's (the French composer) solo piano masterpiece, Claire du Lune. This piece has a special meaning to me, capturing a special moment in my life, and to this day when I hear it, I am still so taken by its beauty. Its pauses are almost as beautiful as its playing parts. And Al, please tell the girls no matter how far apart we are, we are still looking at the same moon :) And hi ... read more

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page"~ St. Augustine It's hard to believe that a passport can act like a mini-magic carpet that can whisk you off to any place in the world of your choosing. And thanks to that little magic carpet, here I am, finally in Paris! We left Ottawa on a Dash-8 plane which is like traveling in a lunch box & being shaken up in a blender. We landed at Dorval and I tell you, we were all wobbly after we got off the flight. We had a 2 hour layover in Dorval, so we went to have a drink. Marth suggested eating, and I reminded her I made food for our flight because I didn't want to eat, (for lack of a better ... read more

I figured this was a good place to post my recent published article for the Work & Family Foundation Canada, a fabulous organization that I write articles for about family, marriage, children and life in general. This one is on "Why Family Vacations are Important". (I have other posts on there, so feel free to toggle to older posts to see them) Having enjoyed our Mexico vacation this summer along with a fabulous getaway to Cindy & Gord's cottage, it made me realize how these vacations add so much richness to all areas of our lives. (including all those crazy things that happen to us along the way!) Click below to read it! Love your feedback! Sal http://workfamilyfoundation.org/family-issues/why-family-vacation-is-important/... read more

Unbeknownst to us, "someone" had a little fun with our camera the last day in Playa (after being warned not to use it). If we had to give a police description, we'd say oh someone around 4 feet tall, 45 pounds & who was acting rather suspicious...And if that stumped the Keystone cops, they could just use the folllowing pics to catch their suspect. If you see this little person who said they NEVER used our camera (pinkie promise), please report them to the authorities. All treats and dessert will be withheld (She did confess & we had a laugh over the series of photos she took when no one was looking.) This is what you get when you mix the Foran/Bennett, Robuskys/Davies together! (And oh her godparents Keith & Danielle probably have something to do ... read more