April 25-May 1, 2022

 And we're back!!  We finally had negative Covid tests on Wednesday.  It is such a relief.  I was a little nervous, as I still have an annoying cough that seems to linger long after the other symptoms go away.  I still feel fatigued and don't have much stamina but that will hopefully return before long.  We had been walking 2.5 - 3 miles a day before we got sick.  We took a short walk outside Wednesday afternoon - maybe a half mile total - and I was worn out when we returned home.

Thursday was our first real day out of the house.  We attended District Council at the chapel.  By the way, Elder Bevans left us on Monday.  His visa finally came and he will finish his last six months in the mission he was called to:  Georgia North (Georgia USA).


Elder Bevans in short sleeves, enjoying the warm Georgia weather!  We will miss him.

After District Council we found the closest Home Depot so John could price some lumber for repairs on Sister Ross's sun porch.


Inside Home Depot was the closest we have felt to anything familiar from home!  I should have taken a close up of the words beneath Home Depot.  It says l'entrepôt de rénovation au Québec.  Translation: the renovation warehouse in Quebec.  It's John's favorite store but we both had a good time walking around looking at "stuff."

We have noticed all the usual fast food chains here, using the names we are familiar with.  Except this one.


PFK??  I was curious why and Google informed me that in accordance with Section 63 of  Quebec's French Language Charter - which states that the name of an enterprise must be in French - the fast food franchise changed its name to PFK, or Poulet Frit Kentucky.  Chicken Fried Kentucky.  If they had to change it, KFP makes more sense to me.  However, we see McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King, Subway, etc. all using the English names so I still don't understand.

On the way home we stopped for some groceries.  It was a pretty full day after not leaving the apartment for 17 days.

Saturday was sunny spring day and we decided to go explore Chinatown.  Montreal's Chinatown is located in the Ville-Marie borough and occupies approximately one square block (a very big block).  The four corners of the block are marked by large ornate Paifang gates.  Paifang translates to archway in English.  It is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure.


The lions on each side of the gateway are thought to protect the area from harmful spiritual influences and harmful people that might be a threat.



Maybe the lion will give us a little protection, too!  My photo of the gate wasn't very good.  Here's a better one off the internet.


rue de la Gauchetiere is a pedestrian walkway, lined with shops, patisseries and cafes.



The Wings building is at one end of rue de la Gauchetiere.  It was built in 1826 and may be the oldest building in Chinatown.  It was designed by James O'Donnel, the architect of the Notre Dame Basilica in Old Montreal.  It has been a military school, a paperbox factory, and a warehouse.  Wing Hing Lung, Wings for short, is known for their fresh noodles and were the first to manufacture bilingual fortune cookies.  Of course we had to buy some!

We ate lunch at the Ruby Rouge restaurant.  The workers barely speak English and no French, so we guessed at some of what we were eating.  It reminded us of the Brazilian restaurants that bring the food around to the tables and ask if you want some of whatever they have.


We mostly tried dim sum items - steamed dumplings, pot stickers, raviolis.  We think they were mostly shrimp and pork and all were very good.



The restaurant was very large, covering the entire upper floor of a building.  There was a huge chandelier over the staircase.  It was a fun lunch.



We met Mr. Fish (poisson) on our way past.  We also saw this car parked in front of a souvenir shop.  We thought they couldn't decide who to choose so put all the flags on the car.


Today was our first Sunday back to church.  We made some appointments for the week and are getting back into the swing of things.










Comments

  1. rustysimon55May 3, 2022 at 2:54 PM

    So glad to hear your on the mend. Can't wait to see you both.

    ReplyDelete

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