July 9 - Return of the Amoebas

Rain.  Only our second day of rain on this trip and the first was a travel day so it didn't matter.  This was Circus Camp day and it's raining!  The circus festival is in town (Montreal is all about the festivals in the summer) and they had planned a free family circus arts camp outdoors today.  Alas, cancelled.  We changed plans and went to the Biodome (not to be confused with the Biosphere) and the Planetarium.  I have to admit, all of the museums we've visited in Quebec have been impressive - size, finish and opportunities for hands-on activities for the kids.   The Biodome hosted a variety of climates with their accompanying flora and fauna.  Penguins are always a favorite!  The planetarium was also fun but is mostly focused on the shows - which were recommended for 8 years and up and we figured that subjecting Natalie to an hour long show on the formation of the planets in our solar system may just put her over the edge.

We hailed an Uber to take us to La Banquise, one of the best rated Poutineries in Quebec City.  There was a line up down the block in the rain (a sure sign that it was worth the wait) so we grabbed an order to go and hopped an Uber back home in time to meet Courtney.  Poutine is ephemera - eat it right away or don't bother.  Well, this stood up to the drive home and was one of the better versions we've had on our trip.

Back at home, the girls and I worked on a music video but that didn't last long as one of the trio (I'll let you guess which one) decided to go all Diva on us so the whole project went a bit sideways.  I know how Mariah Carey's stage crew feels now.

Jack and I set off for date night under a threatening sky - we had a reservation for Toque, a coursed, tasting menu kind of place - but neither of us could face another heavy meal so we dropped into a window seat at a wine bar in Old Town and nibbled on pizza and sipped our wine while we watched the world go by.  Since it was the last night of Jazzfest, I got tickets for us to see Noel Gallegher and the High Flying  Birds.  I didn't recognize any of the acts that we had to choose from and this one sounded the best so I took a gamble.  We sprinted to the concert venue from the restaurant thinking that they would start on time and we arrived to an opener - Adam Strangler - playing.  You know when you see the previews for the movie that you're about to see and they are all terrible and you figure that the movie is probably going to suck.  Well, If Adam Strangler was any indication, we were in for a short night.

We tossed back a drink to steel ourselves and took our seats for the main performance.  It ended up to be a fun, brit-pop sound - absolutely nothing Jazzy about it.  Noel Gallegher was half of Oasis back in the day and he even threw in a couple of old Oasis songs.  Ah memories ...

As we walked home, Jazzfest was gearing up for it's last few performances of the year.  Although I wasn't looking forward to being in Montreal during this Jazzfest, I have to admit that it added a nice color and action to our trip.  We'll miss it when it's all packed up tomorrow.  Good thing there are more festivals at the ready to take up the slack!  Goodbye Jazz; hello Circus!