“‘It a bear!’ she screamed.”
Kelly’s telling her brother’s story about living in northern Ontario: “‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘She screamed bloody hell! She steps into the bedroom and sees this black bear with its massive head sticking through the bedroom window-screen just over the bed. Its nose right over my bald head! I can feel its breath move the few hairs left up there!'”
We’re listening like enthralled school children. We’re so engagned we feel the bear’s breath in our own hair.
It’s late in the evening but after much red wine and many good stories, no one is leaving the warmth and buzz around the towering fireplace in the central lobby of Le Château Montebello. There’s the smell of wood smoke and the sound of a piano man banging out the requests from the crowd, over the din of singing, laughter and chatter.
But back to stories…on first mezzainine level there’s thousands of photos, mostly black and white and they’re old. They tell stories of famous people who have visited the hotel over the years. There’re several photos from the 1981 G7 Summit that tell of the political tensions of the time, with world leaders like Pierre Trudeau, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, François Mitterrand, and others. There are other even older stories too told by the photos of unknown young people, who have all likely passed away, dressed in the baggey but classy golfing, skiing, skating and other sporting gear of the 1930s and 40s. These are stories woven with themes of youthful hope and energy of other eras long past.
Fish Yogurt
The buffet breakfast at the hotel covers a city block! Well okay not nearly that expansive but there is an incredible amount of breakfast choices: of fruits, juices, breads, paisteries, crepes, cheeses, omelettes, bacon, ham, and all manners of items. Bright arrays of colours and yummy smells of bacon and eggs and other tempting goodies. I’m hovering here and there from one section of offerings to another, like a bee hovering about flowers in a garden, loading up my plate and wondering how many more trips between buffet and my table will be needed.
Some of the items are unknown or odd to me. Thankfully there are labels for each item–in French. Here’s one that’s labeled “Fish Yogurt?!!” It’s in a glass. It looks like some sort of goop with a salmon-sort of colour. My stomach churns for moment until my brain catches up–that while “pêche” is “fishing” in French, it is also “peach.” So “Yaourt Pêche” is quite tasty. I take a couple of glasses of it on my return to my table.
Tracker Debbie
Debbie is our self declared tracker. She has developed this interest in animal footprints–in what beast makes them, and in where and what time of day were they taken. We go on a morning walk along the Ottawa River behind the hotel and I’m hoping she will discover something exotic to share with us.
There are some tracks of dogs and maybe some squirrels, but Maurice observes we’re so busy looking down we’re missing the action above. A Pileated Woodpecker swoops over our heads and into a tree, hammers and hops around a bit before disappearing into the forest.
Why Can’t We Get Along?
The din of the yapping sled dogs can be heard from a distance. The dogs are tied up in a fenced off area and are really excited when different sled teams arrive and leave. These animals are beautiful…and quite big.
Two of the dogs launch into an intense fight-to-the-death looking kind of battle–until the handlers run over, separate, and calm these alpha fighters down. The others yelp and run around, excited by the entertainment.
Short Weekend–Long Impact
I listen as Deanna tells a friend about our weekend. Highlights of curling, of hiking, of exercising in the gymn, and of swimming and hot tubbing, of loving the good food, wine and great company. For me, I’m thinking about a few emphemeral moments, of a dog fight, of fish yogurt, of animal tracking, of photos and of the feeling of a bear’s breath in my hair.