The wedding yesterday was fantastic. All three of us had a super-great time; the whole process was a cool mix of casual and formal, family and friends. Jeff and Anne-Marie know a lot of great people, and we got to meet most of them.
We got up early, but for one reason or another we didn't get out to their cabin ("Chez Coz") until almost 2PM. It was a nice drive out there, despite the fact that I had 2 quiches and a tourtiere teetering on the edge of the front seat the whole time. They were at the north end of Lac Simon, about 30 minutes from Tremblant Village, way at the end of a graded dirt road. But the spring leaves were eye-hurtingly radiant, and we were happy to go out there.
Chez Coz was a huge A-frame right on the lake. We were early enough to help, so we set out the food we'd brought and all the glasses. People started streaming in at 3 -- including Jeff's folks, who'd driven all the way from London (Ontario) in a rented van. Anne-Marie was kicking around in hand-knitted slippers and a brown hoodie, moving tables and greeting guests, but then slipped up to the upper rooms to get ready, while Patti and Jeff stayed downstairs to practice their French lines.
The actual ceremony was brief and sweet. Patti, dressed in fabulous gold lame, read out the articles of marriage from Quebec civil law, in English and in French. Then Jeff read out his vows, in French, which was amazingly brave considering how little French he speaks normally. Anne-Marie, who's perfectly fluent in English, read her vows in both English and French.
The sweetest part is that, since the couple met at our weekly dinners, they mentioned us maybe 3 or 4 times in their vows. Awww!
Afterwards Pop Levi did three songs on guitar -- just fantastic stuff, great voice and sweet delivery. Then we had cake.
Amita June loved the party; there were 3 other babies, including Lou and Candace's 21-month-old Olive, and new friends' Ana and Patrick's 5-1/2-month-old Alexandra. We ended up in the baby ghetto most of the time, playing baby games on the floor, or rocking to sleep, or doing other such babyish things.
We left around 10PM -- early-bird parents -- but we're going back today for hanging out and funness. Should be great.
tags: wedding jeff anne-marie lac simon babies pop levi quebec amitajune alexandra olive
Good Wikitravel story
So, we met Ana and Alexandra at the party, and when Maj told Ana what we do for a living, she started laughing. "Wikitravel? My husband was just raving about how great that site is. You have to meet him!"
He came over and told a great Wikitravel story. Apparently he was stuck in Paris with a friends-and-family standby ticket during a particularly high traffic period, and with his ticket he wasn't going to be able to go home for at least 3-4 days. In the CdG airport, he used his notebook to search for travel options. Stumbled on Wikitravel, put together an itinerary to get across the Chunnel to London, take the tube and the train to Heathrow, and get on a plane back through St. John's, Halifax, and then to Montreal. He made his flight with 5 minutes to spare. "Great information I couldn't get in a standard travel guide!" he raved. I love this guy.
tags: wikitravel patrick