That trip home I took...

What can we say - November, and December have been busy. This post is the long over-due recap of our trip to Montreal and then back home - three heartwarming, inspirational weeks.

First dawn after an overnight flight. Coffee was a life saver for the first couple of days, helping to keep the energy up and adapt back to Eastern time. This was our first time to Montreal, and we loved it - it is a historic old world based city, with many lively neighbourhoods. You walk outside your hotel door, and it begins...

Early dawn

Shadows pulling away...

 It was four days of walking, picture taking, definitely lots of great food, gorgeous Fall scenery and even some snow...

View of Montreal - from Mount Royal...

J. being herself

River

Preferred low-rise scenery

 We scouted out various small neighbourhoods, local boutiques, cafes, etc. The weather was one of the best things about the entire trip, raining.. only once.

......... Then there was a short road trip to Ottawa - and the Parliament. Another first time, since J's arrival to Canada. There was some trolling in wind and rain (that's the only rainy day!), meeting the Cats of Parliament Hill, tour of the Building and the Tower, hot chocolate, sandwiches and then a beautiful countryside ride back to Quebec.

..........Then, after another overnight flight, we were greeted by perhaps the warmest October Vilnius has seen in a decade.... Glowing sunshine and 18*C. What more can one ask?

It felt like early September...

....Although the leaves were turning...

Again, lots of walking and observing the changing face of Vilnius everytime we visit... There was also lots of quality time with the family... And shoe shopping.

Castle reno - something most people do not see every day...

View from a restaurant courtyard at sundown... 

Wall.

My mother and I tested out a few wineries around town, as it was getting chilly in the evenings. 

Old winery space

Mother/ Daughter Friday

Raspberry beer - very light and fruity. Fringy items like this, is what I miss back in Canada...

When my mother had to go to work, there was another companion, who stayed home. So we could hang out. Sorta... 

Amelia falling asleep - again...

 

Sundown and city lights over City Hall

The three weeks flew by so fast - seems as though there is never enough time, when I'm home. there could always be another dinner party with long conversations, more places to visit, more walks to do and more memories to gather. I cant wait to visit my family again...


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Monsoon season

Every heat wave eventually climaxes, and this one did with a bang! The Storm took the whole day to gather around, and crawled across the country Eastward from the West....  The thunder came as a warning from the skies, long before the storm got to Vilnius.

At about 9 p.m. the clouds covered the Western horizon, immediately the wind cut through the air, so moveless and moist just a moment ago. And then came the rain, fresh smell of Ozone - and the endless flashing of lightning, followed by a loud roll of thunder right over our heads.

I seemed to remember how violent the thunderstorms used to be here. But I have forgotten the sensations....  The storm was a great refresher for my memory - in my childhood I always thought they were very romantic; and the world wakes up cleansed after they're over....

Vilnius is an old city, with old drainage systems, and this storm brought so much water down, it was all too much for the good ol' pipes and tunnels to handle.

Immediately, the street my mother lives on, flooded. The water kept coming down, till the road, curbs, lawn and, finally, cars parked alongside the curbs, were nearly engulfed by the turbulent, violent stream, rushing into the lowest dip of the street, turning in a whirlpool and rushing back out.

Where four minutes ago there was a street, now was a river...

The most amazing thing I found, was that some drivers, caught in this sudden rise of a flood, still decided to take a shot at driving through it. Moments later, they joined, what looked like a "Saturday Night 'Push Your Dead Car Home'" party... no pun intended...

The luckier ones continued on lighter flooded sidewalks, lawns, or just turned around, while they still could.

Since I have never seen my Hometown turn into Venice of the North, I decided to capture this amazingly unfortunate event on camera, so, thanks to my mom and her arsenal of old shoes, I spend good thirty minutes wading in the flood thighs deep (I still offered help to push people's cars out of the water... and decided, if I end up renting a car, to never park on my mother's street again..)

I doo feel for the owners of these cars - but the evening was quite the sight, and as the rain eased, many onlookers wondered outside or peered out their windows at the spectacle, the kids came by to explore the warm water. Not even three hours later the water drained, and if not for the sand, washed up onto the curbs, you would not even know that something this extraordinary had happened.

BTW - the air here is heating up back to 30s again... We might see the cycle repeat itself...

I am so blessed!

July heat wave sends my Homecity into sweltering standstill...

.... It has been three scorching days since my arrival to Vilnius, Lithuania, my birth city...

A large chunk of Central Europe found itself under a rising heat wave, with temperatures reaching 35-40 degrees C., intervened by rain and gail storms gathering from all directions towards the end of the day.

So far, my hopes for long walks on the streats of Vilnius, visits to my favourite craft, vintage shops and street side cafes have been postponed, as I could not last outside amidst the humid, seemingly moveless air.

Sidewalks, buildings, all the cars and every tree in sight were breathing heat...

Living in Vancouver for the past years, I realized that even I am not as able to survive, let alone embrace the heat of an Interior city. Being here these past days made me realize just how much I am attached to the Seaside, and endless flow of ocean scented air  ...

The month of July is the prime holiday season for Lithuanians, so it is quite usual to see the city emptying, as the locals travel to the shore of the Baltic sea some 4 hours away.

But this heat wave has completely cleared the streets. Those, who, like myself, somewhat unexpectedly, remained in town, chose to stay confined to their homes, air-conditioned shopping centres or took off to one of the nearby lakes... The only people I met during my short stroll from one shade to another, were groups of tourists, fanning themselves helplessly with their laminated maps, wiping sweat off their faces and hands.

I also ran into several wedding parties, positioning themselves on the shaded side of the Cathedral, and still sweating into their gowns and suits.

Street cafes, where once it was nearly impossible to get a table for a sit-down, were empty and quiet. Old town art market, gift shops and restaurants were just as empty. I could not help, but wonder, what does this weather, in addition to the plunged economy and high emigration, bring to the businesses of Vilnius...

But, on weekends, struck by a heat wave, the life is very different in Lithuania's West. Despite the high costs of holidaying there, locals and visitors celebrate their national sea coast and flood there on any occasion. With white sand beaches, and numerous cultural events during the summer, that is the place to be!

I really should have rented a car!

Now we'll just wait and see what other challenges my vacation to the hometown brings next...

(**these wonderful images, used for the post are NOT mine. The weather prevented me from exploring my city so far... Sources: Alix, NAdo, Nathan, Aiste, J.Kazanskaja - all acquired via Google Images)