Fabi at Pierre-Elliot Trudeau Airport
Well, that’s it. The end of the holidays. We got to the airport in good time, checked in without any trouble, and went for a last farewell drinks and nachos at the airport bar.
It’s been great having Fabian here, we had a lot of fun.
Save journey, and Hoover sends a purr and a miaow.
Fabi worked all day to finish the last in his series of image transfers. This final piece has been created using images Fabian shot himself using his iPhone, so this is a totally unique piece. The canvas was still drying as we took the bus home. All paintings have now been wrapped in wax paper and are safely stored in Fabian’s suitcase. It’s like a portable exhibition! Great job, Fabi!
Fabi is expecting a sizable welcome committee upon his return to Hamburg! Here are his flight details, just so you can get ready:
August 4, 2011
Montreal – Munich LH475
Departure 20:05
August 5, 2011
Munich – Hamburg LH2068
Departure 11:40
Red carpet, please!
The Last Supper
For Fabi’s last dinner in Montreal I took him to a Montreal institution: Schwartz’s Smoked Meat and Deli on Boulevard St-Laurent. We met Avigail there and ordered the classic medium smoked-meat sandwich (medium fat, that is, not medium size) and a cherry soda. And fries. And coleslaw. Not surprisingly Fabian was still hungry after the first sandwich and promptly inhaled a second order (And fries. And soda). Now he’s a real Montrealer. I’m so proud!
Today was Fabi’s last full day in Montreal, so we decided to go on one more day-trip.
We ventured north to St-Donat in the Laurentians, a one and a half hour ride up the Autoroute 15. After a pizza in the village we drove into Park Mont-Tremblant for a stroll at the Chute-aux-rats waterfall. It’s a picturesque spot, and we spent some time walking the trail and sitting on the massive rocks in the stream. It was a great way to end a wonderful vacation.
The results of a very busy day in the studio.
We had a looong day in the studio today. With only three days left of Fabian’s stay in Montreal, we realized that we’d better get cracking with the final image transfers we had planned to do! We spent nearly 10 hours in the studio today, used up all the gesso, made a serious dent in the acrylic gel jar, and created three awesome images. By the time we left for home it was 9pm!
Today we met Nico for lunch in Montreal’s Chinatown for dim sum (Chinese brunch). Fabian learned how to tackle dumplings, fried octopus, and steamed kaylan with chopsticks – very impressive! We really stuffed ourselves; I, for one, don’t think I’ll eat again for the rest of the day. Not sure about Fabi, though…
Wrapped sticky rice, deep-fried prawns, steamed kaylan, shrimp dumplings
Andrew, Fabian, and the 20" Obsession Dobsonian
Yesterday evening Tina and I visited Tina’s friend Andrew and his family for a barbecue. The family was very nice and the kids were funny :)!
After the barbecue Andrew showed us his amazing stargazing equipment, and his new telescope which was huge.
I helped him to install the telescope and in the meantime the older daughter showed us her flowers in the garden. She is very intelligent.
After we installed the telescope we placed a fan behind the scope because its mirror needed to cool down to the air temperature.
We went back inside the house for half an hour and Andrew showed us his collection of eyepieces.
Once the scope had cooled down we started stargazing. We saw the Ring Nebula, Saturn, the Hercules Star Cluster, the Dumbbell Nebula, and a double star.
The telescope was so big that we needed a ladder to reach the eyepiece.
Andrew also taught me the constellations with a laser pointer, and now I know how to find the Polaris, the north star. I was so immersed in the subject, that I dreamed of stars! :)!
The blue slushy is all natural. No, really!
Another hot day, another trip to the swimming pool. That was the plan, anyway. But the pool at Parc Jean-Drapeau is closed due to a swimming competition, and the pool at the YMCA near the apartment is closed until 3pm because of swimming lessons for kids. So, as a consolation prize Fabi picked up a vivid blue slushy at the Couche-Tard to cool off. We’ll head back to the pool later.
Montreal Diary 