Last week was the girls’ Winter break and we took them to see my parents for some Winter fun. We left them for a couple of days and went to Château Montebello. I’ve always loved this place. I visited as a child, never actually sleeping there. M and I got married there and we visited again a year later. We agreed then that we should come back in Winter but it’s taken us until now to do it. Hopefully, it won’t take us as long to do it again. This place truly shines in Winter (though the grounds are gorgeous year round).
The interior has such a warm coziness to it, especially when the fires are lit (6 of them). It’s a little bit dark and makes you quiet down a little. It even works on children! So when you’re lounging on one of those couches around the fireplace, you don’t hear the people near you. It’s just perfectly relaxing and perfectly wintery.
The hotel is by the Ottawa river, arguably more impressive when it isn’t just an expanse of ice…
We went skating (one of the rinks is refrigerated), cross country skiing, and snowshoeing. I tried to take pictures when we went skiing but that wasn’t smart. There were a couple icy hills and M had to ski down, walk back up, take the camera and walk back down. I hadn’t done this in over 10 years and my snowplow was rusty at best…
(Picture taken when we went back for a walk after the skiing.)
The snowshoeing was definitely more camera friendly! We went on a different trail (there’s 6 of them).
I miss real Winters. They’re about a month too long but still so lovely. (Cold, yes, but I’ll deal with that if it means I get skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, skating, snowball fights… and hot chocolate!)
Creative mommy at home to two wonderful little girls, trying to juggle family, sewing, exercise, family, knitting, photography, and did I mention family?
Deux souriceaux 
I love reading your comments! I will try to respond to every single one.