Relaxing in Pointe-Claire Village

We are staying with our friend Jenn in Pointe-Claire village and on thursday morning we went for a leisurely walk along the village and down to the point, by the lake (which is not really a lake but the St Lawrence river but which everybody calls "the lake"). The weather smiled upon us on our first official day of holiday and we spend an hour sitting in the sun watching a pair of paragliders zooming on the ice in a small bay by the village, one on a snowboard and another on skis.

Some sites and pictures of the village (I haven't been able to upload my pictures yet so these will do for now...)
Le Moulin de Pointe-Claire
I would love to live in a place like this
Official site
Euro-Plus Cafe (where we go for coffee every morning)
Dubuc Opticiens (where I buy my glasses - I'm having sunglasses made this time; they are so cool!!!)

Finding a "piso"

Looking for an apartment over the internet in a city where I had never been before proved to be both fun and nerve-wrecking. I spent countless hours studying the map of Barcelona, talking with friends who had lived there about different neighbourhoods, and finally decided I wanted a place on the right side of the Eixample for under 900 euros/month. A friend gave me the contact of the rental agency she worked with (Barcelona Allotjament) and although Olga - the woman with whom I corresponded - was very helpful they didn’t have an apartment available in the area I wanted. I combed the ads at Loquo and browsed the web for other agencies. I finally came across ShBarcelona, which had a wide selection of apartments in and around the Eixample and great pictures. We reserved an apartment in a great area (Bruc/Rosello) and paid our deposit and first month. We’ll be at walking distance from the Sagrada Familia, Passeig the Gracia, Passeig San Joan, shopping along the Diagonal, the Gracia barrio and a great covered market. Can’t wait!!!!!

And the torture is over!!!!!

I PASSED MY COMPS!!!!!!!!! I had my oral exam yesterday morning and I've never felt that nervous before in my life. Just before going in my supervisor told me I had no reason to feel nervous, both him and my second reader thought my written exam was one of the best they've seen (I thought it was absolute crap!) and that the orals would just be a conversation about it. That calmed me down a tad - enough to allow me to at least look relaxed and as the questions flowed I became more animated and before I knew it, it was over. I passed, they all shook my hand and my nightmare was over. The past few months have been the hardest of my life - I couldn't eat properly, I was so stressed I would feel sick to my stomach half the time. I almost quit. I started looking for alternative career plans. Now I'm glad all of that is over and I can move on!
People in my department say that the comps are very anti-climatic, that you don't get to use all the knowledge you acquired, that most people go into depression once it's over. Whatever. I don't care if it wasn't that difficult. I passed. Depression?? Give me a break - I'm going to Spain for research! and most importantly - I now get to read what I want for a change...

Next post will be about our preparations for our Great European Adventure!!