Blame Canada

One refreshing 14-hour bus-ride later, we're in Canada. The first day (or what's left of it), we spent mostly relaxing, and talking to the relatives. Kiernan, my cousin the groom, came by for a moment, and I tried on the rented Tuxedo. We sent the jacket, vest and shirt back, but the rest fit...

Later Patrick (my cousin Mirjam's boyfriend), my cousin Raymond and me went for a nice swim in the pool, before going indoor free-climbing. Patrick pretty much just climbed up everything, he made it look easy. Raymond was at least struggling a little, and yours truly did pretty well on the lower-numbered walls. But I tended to slip a lot if I didn't have a good handhold. But this is a nice kind of sport. Definitely on my 'try again' list.

We did both regular climbing secured by a rope, as well as 'tumbling', which basically means you stay low on a wall, but climb unsecured. The instructor told us it needed no strength, that the technique was all in the legs ... and then proceeded to just hang himself off the wall from his hands and climb it that way ... yeah, rrrrriiiiiight.

The day of the wedding started with me and the other "Garcons d'honneur" just getting in a leisurely breakfast together with the groom. The best man was Kiernan's old friend Frederick, while Richard and yours truly were the "Ushers". After a while, the photographer arrived and, due to the weather, we took some photos of us with Kiernan in their living room.

Then it was off to the wedding, which was wonderful, with bridesmaids (the bride and groom's sisters), music, and all the nice stuff that must make organizing a wedding ceremony so hard. Most of it was French, though, which means I didn't really understand too much, especially since understanding French-Canadian pronunciation really isn't my strong suit.

After that we drove to a park, where some more photos were taken with the couple. The photos will probably be gorgeous, because the colors of the park were so bright and vibrant after the torrents of rain that had been coming down all day. I can't wait to see them.

I even got to meet the little son of my cousin Lorrie, who sadly had caught some bug that day and had to go see a doctor, so I didn't really get to know him, nor her husband. But instead, at the reception and supper I got to meet some of my uncle's family from Ireland, which I had been curious about for quite some time. I also got to meet the bride and her family and talk with them and some other friends of the family a little, like the best man's parents. It's really great to get a tiny glimpse of the lives my relatives across the pond are leading there.

There also was music and dancing, and even some of the music that works for my 'free-form-dancing', so I had a boatload of fun dancing along a little as long as no formal training in standard or couple-dances was expected. A nice way to finish a great day. And boy, do they make a great couple...

The next day we went bowling, both with 5 pins and small balls as well as ten-pin big ball-bowling, I did fairly decently there (always smack-dab in the middle of the list). After that, Patrick, Maya, Ruth and I shot a little pool under Mirjam's supervision. I'll tell you right away: Pool isn't my game. I pretty much suck at it, and was lucky when the balls just collided. I think I sunk one ball. And with Maya on the other side, chances for winning were definitely stacked against us. But we had fun, which is what this kind of games are for, after all.

When we returned, we coerced Maya into a treat: She made us Marshmallow-Rice-Crispies-Cookies, which went wonderfully with our hot chocolate. Mmmmmhhhh...