Unbelievable! This day last year I was in Tokyo with Michele and we visited Daien-ji (Daien Temple). It is the most amazing place. I wrote in my blog last year about it but have posted here different images from that day.

Perhaps today reflected that day too... I worked with teachers who really want to get things happening for their students.

Finally after our cruise we are back home but... a number of thing have happened that made getting home not as stress free as one would hope... minor but not so great... if I listed it, it would seem so petty... and so now all there needs to be done is the laundry including the sub-lessee's laundry and soon the apartment will be back to feeling like ours.

From someone else's window

It is interesting how different the view is from Julia's apartment. Just across the street is an office block

It has a very different feel from the one opposite our apartment

The architecture of some of the buildings around here is an older style given that the aprtment is quite close to Carnegie Hall

These balconies fascinated me- they seem to be sitting out in the middle of nowhere- perhaps it is the railings that make them seem more "open"

Her view down Broadway is the opposite direction to the one from our apartment

We have had a very leisurely day getting back in to the city and getting ourselves ready for our next day's work. I have tried to sort out what schools I still have and what and where I'll be going. Tomorrow I need to get home in time to pay the cleaner who is putting our apartment back in order after our sublets. We managed to order our food shopping online so we'll need to put that away and get the washing done- how quickly the ordinary comes back into our lives.

Last night's nightmare flight back in to NYC is still churning around. We were buffeted around and extremely glad to set foot on the immigration hall floor two hours later than we were supposed to. The flight was late leaving due to the weather in Newark and our stomachs and heart rates have nearly returned to normal.

Departing Quebec

Our last day in Quebec and then headed back to NYC.
We caught the best of the weather on the two previous days

The ever present Frontenac

The city through the ramparts of the city wall

Looking into windows

Some of the roads are steep!

The architecture varied

Our final autumnal tints?

It was lucky that we didn't think about what the weather may mean for our flight back to NYC. It was delayed by the weather into Newark. What a nightmare ride that was- rising and falling and tossing with the wind and rain. We were glad to be back on terra firma even if it was two hours late

A Quebec

Off the ship and in Quebec for a second night.

We booked a walking tour of the city

Such a European feel to the city

Great views from the upper ramparts of the city

There were so many people out with their dogs ...

... others were making the most of the beauty of their dogs seeking donations when you photographed them

Autumn still not in complete blaze of glory but patches here and there

Ahh Quebec City

Annie hadn't been to Quebec before so it was a treat sharing the first views of the Frontenac with her.

Part of the fortress wall of this walled city

The seminary all silver and grey

The rooftops

If Sue had waited long enough for the ship to turn around she would have been able to photograph the sights of Quebec from her bed just as I did that morning

Saguenay, Quebec

We arrived in Saguenay and had no firm plans so it was a leisurely start

A view that wasn't too difficult to take


Interesting buildings as we walked to one of the churches and squares where there was a market in progress.

The fiddle player and the piano accordion gave a real French feel to the place

A nightmare rack in our daily ritual of scrabble....

The wine helped ease the pain of this turn!

At sea

A bit of cheat blogging here... I didn't take any photos on our day at sea but I have set myself this personal challenge of doing as I did in August- have a post for every day of the month! As one can't photograph oneself at an art auction or checking out other cruise possibilities or merely lounging around so here are some random shots...

Saguenay Fjord- a view from our balcony

Deck sail away party

Loved the patterns and it reminded me of a painting I loved that we saw in Santa Fe

The contrast of rocky shore, sea and seawall in Rhode Island

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

We arrived at Prince Edward Island- that lovely red earth

We had to do the Anne of Green Gables Tour and who was there?.....

Anne herself!

The house was Lucy Maud Montgomery's cousin's home set up in keeping with the stories of Anne of Green Gables

Complete with "the" dress that Anne had wanted

We returned to Charlottetown via a preserves company where there were the most beautiful dahlias.

Lunch in a pub overlooking the water and some Canadian beer drinkers at the next table.



The next autumn leaf photo

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Old buildings and approximate date of establishment are about the only thing Sydney Australia and Sydney Nova Scotia have in common

A walking tour around the town with information about the history and...

.....the buildings

Loved the uneven spires- fire and lack of funds to finish them gave the church a "different" look

The ship always caught your attention

Finally some autumn leaves!

And another sunset as we left Sydney