We aren't beside the swake this week, we are travelling; but all is well because Kanti is still guarding the place under the watchful eye of two fabulous dog sitters. Since Sunday we have been working in the Maritimes. One of us is conducting training and the other is being trained. That's not really the story, but it might be the reality! We are both working during the day and then exploring towns and pubs at night. Along the way we are meeting some great people, eating some okay food, seeing some beautiful sights.
Yesterday was a travel day and therefore a fun day, so we squeezed in a side trip from Halifax to Lunenburg to hobnob on the wharf with the premiers and see the tall ships. Truth is the premiers kept a low profile other than the photo opportunity for the newspapers, so we didn't even see them but we did see the tall ships. After we were done touring the ships, we enjoyed some libation and a huge plate of mussels on a balcony overlooking the harbour. Greg won a Moosehead t-shirt, although we aren't quite sure why. All he did was order a pint, or was that two?
This afternoon, I wandered up the road to get a salad at Swiss Chalet. Figured it would be fast, reasonable, and relatively fool-proof. Well, life proved me wrong again. The lettuce had been languishing in a cooler for several days too long before it was plated for my salad. The fellow in the next booth tried to explain to the waitress that he couldn't have gluten. She suggested switching the roll for some 'non-bread'. The ensuing conversation was reminiscent of the old 'who's on first, what's on second....' or however that goes. She is certain he can eat 'non-bread' and he is trying to discover what 'non-bread' is. Well, they have naan bread on the menu and our hapless waitress thought it was 'non-bread' therefore it wouldn't have gluten. I paid my bill quickly and left.
Two days earlier I had a similar incident in another restaurant. I was quizzing the owner, yes the owner, about the use of wheat in various dishes. His response was "what happens if you eat wheat, do you die?" I took the high-road and spared him the details of what happens, as it really isn't that dramatic. But yikes, glad I don't have a life-threatening food allergy or visiting the maritimes might be the end of me.
So back to, the stories of today. After the fiasco in Swiss Chalet, I walked back to the hotel to get some work done. Let me preface this by saying that parking at the hotel has been interesting. The first stall we tried to park in had a "hybrid only" sign. Being law-abiding socially responsible folks, we backed out and tried another stall. It had a sign "employee of the month". We backed out again and finally found a stall that we were allowed to be in. But this afternoon, I noticed that there was a Mercedes SUV in the Employee of the Month stall. Good grief. We are in the poorest part of Canada, there are very few luxury vehicles on the road, and very few people who can afford them. I'm betting that the Mercedes didn't belong to the Employee of the Month unless the hotel owner voted him/herself Employee of the Month. We'll see if Greg notices when he comes back from his work this afternoon. If he does, I'll have a hard time reinforcing the training portion that involves obeying the signs!
There have been some good moments in this trip. Like the one in the airport where Greg spotted an older gentleman in brand new white sneakers with navy socks pulled way up, carrying a green, blue, and black floral print bag. The sight made Greg gasp "Who let him go out like that?", which sent me into giggles. Then there was the ice cream lighthouse where I ordered one scoop and got three. When I told the lady "no, I only wanted one scoop" she said "that is one scoop". Well it was delicious but that would explain why obesity rates are a tad higher here than other parts of Canada. Getting to see the tall ships was serendipitous, and they were amazing. We have a couple more days until the adventure is complete, here's hoping we encounter more great people, some great food, and more beautiful sights.
Comments
Post a Comment