22 October

Started a 6 week French course - weird to be talking French again, seeing as I had mostly forgotten everything I once knew. I think they put me in slightly higher class than I should have been in, but it's cool because the people in the class are real nice. Also, the other class I might have been in was full of Mexicans - and as I would soon discover, when speaking to Spanish speakers I got easily confused by the accent and came out with Spanish words accidentally. I'll write more about this when I finish the course...

It's still only as cold as Blighty.

20 October

Went to La Ronde, the biggest theme park in Quebec. Unfortunately we only managed to go on 3 rides, one of which was Bob l'Eponge (Spongebob Squarepants), a 3D film type ride which, looking back, was probably a bad use of time. By far the least time-efficient ride, however, was Goliath - an old style (as in, hilly) rollercoaster with a monumental drop at the start and an equally monumental queue to match. After waiting for 2 or 3 hours we were nearly thwarted by the wind too, but ended up being some of the last people to be let on before closing time. Through various means we managed to get in for £2.50 each! Beat that, Alton Towers.

19 October

Met Emilie's sister, Marie-Claude, for the first time properly. She came round chez nous for dinner, and we played 20 questions. I was Stevie Wonder at one point (Am I black? Still? Oh, not Michael Jackson then).

It's still about as cold as England here.

16 October - QOTSA

Went to see Queens of the Stone Age, who, of course, rocked big time. Highlights were No One Knows (played first) and Song For The Dead (played last), so I guess it was a bit of a lull between by comparison! The venue was real good too, and I witnessed the strange Canadian system of the barman bringing drinks into the crowd and selling them there! What genius! I'm sure in England that wouldn't last long before some chav would tip them onto the floor, just for a laff.

15 October

Went for a walk around Old Montreal - that is, the tourist area. Saw the town hall, and other such things and basically just looked at the nice architecture. Also tried a Tim Hortons for the first time. It's basically a fastfood place but with more doughnuts - everything there is entirely made from sugar, it seems.

It's about as cold as England at the moment.