Je veux allez a un jeu d'hockey au Centre de Bell

They say that if you want to get a taste of European flavor without leaving North America, go to Montreal. Of course, an extra bonus of going there instead of Europe is that you also get the second greatest hockey team in the NHL.

As a place that I'd never been before, it held a certain appeal to me just in terms of going where no Jon had ever been before. Montreal was strangely familiar, yet completely foreign. Very accommodating while being somewhat difficult to manage. Parts of the city reminded me of the residential parts of Chicago and the less clean parts of Toronto's Yonge Street. Other parts were very European and very glamorous with their bars, bistros and shops. Still others were, of course, very Canadian. It was unquestionably a new experience for me.

And there were ducks. In really cool ponds with fountains. And there is nothing more serenely European than watching people feed ducks in a pond with a backdrop of old style architecture.

This was a moment that certainly qualified to be on the list of Magical Vacation Moments. That picture (and yes, that means an actual updated photo gallery from the trip is online) was taken as we approached the pond from the bridge that spanned it. There were three ducks swimming around by the edge, a mother and two baby ducks. On the shore were an older woman and her grandson. They were just sitting on the grass throwing cereal bits and bread to the ducks. As we crossed the bridge, Christie and Amy excitedly pointed at the ducks and instantly wanted to go see them.

We wandered over, being careful not to intrude into this picture of serenity, just wanting to observe. The woman spoke to her grandson with a slight accent. I initially assumed it to be French, but as she spoke to her grandson more, I began to think otherwise. As I tried to place the exact accent, Christie got a little closer to them and asked me if she could feed the duckies too. I had to tell her that we didn't have anything we could throw to them. The woman saw us with Christie and Amy, and was obviously quite taken with them. Taking some of their last remaining food, she held some out for Christie and invited her to join in.

I felt a little guilty, as I had certainly not intended to solicit anything, but I also didn't want to interfere with such a sweet gesture. As Christie took the bits and began to throw them to the ducks, the woman explained to Christie to make sure to break up the larger bits so that they wouldn't be too large for the baby ducks. She did this gently, in much the same manner that she used with her own grandson, as if Christie were also part of her family.

I took Amy out of her stroller and carried her over to get a better look. As she squirmed to get out of my grip, Christie, the woman and the boy continued to throw morsels to the ducks. And for a fleeting instant, the only thing that really mattered was to enjoy the peacefulness of this moment.