The People (Sunday 13th July 2008) says: A young family bid farewell at the end of a summer break - and for Kate and Gerry McCann it can only be a deeply emotional ordeal. For the parents of missing Maddie simply taking the decision to go on holiday was almost too hard to bear.
It was the couple's first proper getaway with their three-year-old twins since that fateful trip to Portugal 14 months ago. Not for them the excitement and anticipation of other holidaymakers. Not for them the promise of time free from the stresses of workaday life.
For Kate and Gerry their three week trip to Canada could hardly be anything but a painful reminder of what happened in Praia da Luz in May last year. And Maddie did not leave their minds for a moment.
Yet the courageous couple knew it had to be done. For their own sake, and their twins, they knew they needed to take that painful step and go abroad without Madeleine.
Doctors Kate and Gerry, anxious to keep everything as normal as possible, watched son Sean in his favourite Harry Dinosaur PJs as he pulled a Noddy case towards check-in. Blonde Amelie - the image of Maddie, who is now the same age as her sister when she vanished - revelled in loving hugs from Gerry while the family prepared for the nine-hour flight home last Thursday.
The couple, both 40, had stayed with Kate's aunt, Norah Paul - who explained how the holiday meant one agonising hurdle was now behind them. Norah, sister of Kate's dad, said after waving off the McCanns:
"They had a lovely time, very relaxing. It was all about them getting away. They really enjoyed being away from the spotlight. We spent a lot of time at the beach. The beaches here are beautiful." Norah's daughter and neighbours who got to know Kate and Gerry during their stay were also at the airport.
It was Norah, who emigrated to Canada several years ago, who had a key role in persuading the McCanns to take their first holiday since Madeleine vanished. Norah - originally from Liverpool, like Kate - spoke up in support of the couple after they were named as official suspects by Portuguese police.
During their stay in Canada the family are also believed to have met up with vicar's wife Susan Haynes-Hubbard. Her husband is minister at the church in Praia da Luz where the McCanns prayed each day. Canadian Susan became a tower of strength to Gerry and Kate in the days after Madeleine went missing from the family's holiday apartment.
Another factor in the McCanns' choice of holiday destination was the sheer vastness of the country around Vancouver - which promised them much-needed peace and quiet.
Vancouver is the capital of British Columbia - four times the size of the UK and marked by dense forests, miles of rugged Pacific coastline and views of the snow-capped Rockies.
