PEI: Village at Avonlea, Cavendish Beach, Brackley
Nova Scotia: Halifax, Lunenburg, Peggy's Cove
New Brunswick: Hopewell Rocks, Moncton
Quebec: Montreal Fireworks competition, Montreal Tower, Old Montreal, Biodome, Botanic Gardens,Inn Between -THEE greatest apartments to rent in Montreal, with THEE greatest host on the planet, the adorable, tri-lingual, incomparable Fernando!
Ontario (Ottawa): Capital Hill, family and the tennis courts, Mosaika light show
Ontario (Toronto): my soul sister, Zoo, Honest Ed's, Kensington and Chinatown, CN Tower, Hippo Bus, chihuahuas and great danes
Ontario (Niagara Falls): Skywheel, Wax Museum, Maid of the Mist, Minolta Tower Hotel
Train Ride Home: Winnipeg (the Forks), auto graveyard in SK, sunrise on the home stretch in AB
And, of course, LBA's personal photodiary
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
what? no @*&^$#^%$ showers?
The area around the train tracks in Niagara was one of my fave spots, truth be told. Niagara is kind of obnoxious, really - it's very glitzy and has a Vegas sort of feel to it. Bright lights and big city, far more touristy than any of the other places we had been on the entire trip. This is of course as much a part of the fun as it is a drawback - throngs of people tripping over one another to get to the mini-golf and buy fake Niagara Falls license plates that read: "Gr8 Lay" and "4:20" doesn't really scream "I'm next to one of the most amazing natural wonders on the planet..."
There were numerous rundown buildings in what was originally downtown Niagara,many many moons ago. Left to rot when everything moved closer to the falls, the locals have been trying to revitalize it into something of an arts district, but there are still a goodly number of ramshackle houses and weathered stone buildings, rusting bridges, and several defunct businesses bordering the station. I particularly enjoyed the once-was-a-convenience-store that was filled to the ceiling like a hoarder's paradise - maps, old ledgers, string, a rocking horse and a sled, yellowed newspapers, etc.- and a sign on the front door that said they sold stamps and lottery tickets there, and had free kittens, too...
We rode an Amtrak to Union Station in the t.dot, where we had a couple of hours to kill before boarding the final train. We were looking forward to just sitting and relaxing for a bit, and had been told by a few people that there were showers. Apparently, no, not in steerage, which we discovered the hard way. Having walked through Niagara for an entire super-hot day was a grungy way to start the trip, and after being cooped up for another 24 hours you could identify group odours as you passed the seats. I don't even want to know what our area smelled like - I just know that I can't imagine life without a daily shower.
We passed the time by watching movies, playing cards and Angry Birds, and sleeping. Watching the landscape whiz past us was surreal - the Canadian Shield is so diverse and untamed and achingly beautiful. It was almost a shame to be on a train where the luxury of being able to pull over and smell and touch and explore was denied us - we passed by countless pastoral fields, crazy-looking rock formations, quaint little lakes, and weird sections of land where dead trees stood like stubble in glassy ponds. It was especially eerie being up at sunrise when the plethora of random little bodies of water and partially harvested fields would have a wispy blanket of fog hung over them, the sun not quite high enough above the horizon to burn it off, but high enough to stain the sky shades of red and yellow and pink. We passed through countless dead or dying towns, automobile graveyards and collapsed buildings and abandoned farmhouses sprawled out on both sides of the tracks.
The second thing we found out a little too late was that we were stopping in Winnipeg for a 4-hour layover. This would have been a golden opportunity for us to have had a hotel room booked to take showers and freshen up for the last day and a half on the train, but as it wasn't noted on the ticket and it was 8:00 am, we had no luck finding a hotel room so last minute. However, in spite of being cranky and dirty, we managed to have an OK time anyway. We ended up grabbing breakfast at Tim Horton's then walking around in a sweet little area called The Forks. There was a great skate park and a beautifully landscaped walking trail. There was also a candy store called "Sugar Mountain" which we all laughed at because of the easy connection to Candy Mountain... there was much "Charlie, we're on a bridge" laughter to be had. We went into the artisan market, too, where the girls got cheapie dresses, picked up a few last-minute souvenirs, and bought pretty coffees and locally-grown organic cinnamon buns that were so fresh from the oven they were burning my arm as we walked back to the train.
The last discovery I made is that I don't sleep well on trains. While it was easy to nod off for a few minutes at a time, actually sleeping was impossible. The last night on the train was particularly treacherous for me. Feeling cooped, tired, dirty, and decidedly homesick, I almost burst into tears when I saw a John Deere sign glowing in the night sky just outside of Watrous, SK. When the sun rose a few hours later, my spirits lifted. Wil & Kaelan had slept in the dome car, and I went up to wake them and I darn near peed my pants with excitement when I realized from my GPS that we were going to go over one of my favourite bridges ever - the train bridge over the North Saskatchewan that is just north of Highway 16 on the east end of Edmonton. Since I was a kid I have admired it every time I've headed east of Edmonton, and when we got close enough to see it actually squeals, and I'm pretty sure as we rode over it I was vibrating!
We pulled into the station a few minutes later, jumped in a taxi, and went home to shower, do laundry, nap, get our dog home... and upload the 6000 or so pictures from the trip so we could share them with all our friends and family.
Those will be coming in a few day - I managed to whittle it down to about 1400 images. I'll separate them by location, but won't be adding captions - if you want to know what it is or why I took the picture, just ask...
Thanks for coming along on our journey. I've now been in every province and territoty in Canada except for the Yukon and Newfoundland & Labrador, and all I can say is PLEASE make a point of seeing as much of this vast, amazing and beautiful country of ours. From the haunting beauty of the Maritimes to the plush urban niceties of Montreal, the beautiful architecture in Canada's older cities to the bustling modernity of Toronto, from farms to factories, from rocks and oceans and waterfalls to mountains and fields and caves, from icefields and glaciers to deserts and rainforests, Canada has so much to offer.
I. Am. Canadian.
There were numerous rundown buildings in what was originally downtown Niagara,many many moons ago. Left to rot when everything moved closer to the falls, the locals have been trying to revitalize it into something of an arts district, but there are still a goodly number of ramshackle houses and weathered stone buildings, rusting bridges, and several defunct businesses bordering the station. I particularly enjoyed the once-was-a-convenience-store that was filled to the ceiling like a hoarder's paradise - maps, old ledgers, string, a rocking horse and a sled, yellowed newspapers, etc.- and a sign on the front door that said they sold stamps and lottery tickets there, and had free kittens, too...
We rode an Amtrak to Union Station in the t.dot, where we had a couple of hours to kill before boarding the final train. We were looking forward to just sitting and relaxing for a bit, and had been told by a few people that there were showers. Apparently, no, not in steerage, which we discovered the hard way. Having walked through Niagara for an entire super-hot day was a grungy way to start the trip, and after being cooped up for another 24 hours you could identify group odours as you passed the seats. I don't even want to know what our area smelled like - I just know that I can't imagine life without a daily shower.
We passed the time by watching movies, playing cards and Angry Birds, and sleeping. Watching the landscape whiz past us was surreal - the Canadian Shield is so diverse and untamed and achingly beautiful. It was almost a shame to be on a train where the luxury of being able to pull over and smell and touch and explore was denied us - we passed by countless pastoral fields, crazy-looking rock formations, quaint little lakes, and weird sections of land where dead trees stood like stubble in glassy ponds. It was especially eerie being up at sunrise when the plethora of random little bodies of water and partially harvested fields would have a wispy blanket of fog hung over them, the sun not quite high enough above the horizon to burn it off, but high enough to stain the sky shades of red and yellow and pink. We passed through countless dead or dying towns, automobile graveyards and collapsed buildings and abandoned farmhouses sprawled out on both sides of the tracks.
The second thing we found out a little too late was that we were stopping in Winnipeg for a 4-hour layover. This would have been a golden opportunity for us to have had a hotel room booked to take showers and freshen up for the last day and a half on the train, but as it wasn't noted on the ticket and it was 8:00 am, we had no luck finding a hotel room so last minute. However, in spite of being cranky and dirty, we managed to have an OK time anyway. We ended up grabbing breakfast at Tim Horton's then walking around in a sweet little area called The Forks. There was a great skate park and a beautifully landscaped walking trail. There was also a candy store called "Sugar Mountain" which we all laughed at because of the easy connection to Candy Mountain... there was much "Charlie, we're on a bridge" laughter to be had. We went into the artisan market, too, where the girls got cheapie dresses, picked up a few last-minute souvenirs, and bought pretty coffees and locally-grown organic cinnamon buns that were so fresh from the oven they were burning my arm as we walked back to the train.
The last discovery I made is that I don't sleep well on trains. While it was easy to nod off for a few minutes at a time, actually sleeping was impossible. The last night on the train was particularly treacherous for me. Feeling cooped, tired, dirty, and decidedly homesick, I almost burst into tears when I saw a John Deere sign glowing in the night sky just outside of Watrous, SK. When the sun rose a few hours later, my spirits lifted. Wil & Kaelan had slept in the dome car, and I went up to wake them and I darn near peed my pants with excitement when I realized from my GPS that we were going to go over one of my favourite bridges ever - the train bridge over the North Saskatchewan that is just north of Highway 16 on the east end of Edmonton. Since I was a kid I have admired it every time I've headed east of Edmonton, and when we got close enough to see it actually squeals, and I'm pretty sure as we rode over it I was vibrating!
We pulled into the station a few minutes later, jumped in a taxi, and went home to shower, do laundry, nap, get our dog home... and upload the 6000 or so pictures from the trip so we could share them with all our friends and family.
Those will be coming in a few day - I managed to whittle it down to about 1400 images. I'll separate them by location, but won't be adding captions - if you want to know what it is or why I took the picture, just ask...
Thanks for coming along on our journey. I've now been in every province and territoty in Canada except for the Yukon and Newfoundland & Labrador, and all I can say is PLEASE make a point of seeing as much of this vast, amazing and beautiful country of ours. From the haunting beauty of the Maritimes to the plush urban niceties of Montreal, the beautiful architecture in Canada's older cities to the bustling modernity of Toronto, from farms to factories, from rocks and oceans and waterfalls to mountains and fields and caves, from icefields and glaciers to deserts and rainforests, Canada has so much to offer.
I. Am. Canadian.
Staycation
My dear friend Lynda moved to Toronto about 7 years ago. She was one of the first people to know that Bill & I were pregnant with Serejane. I was very sad and angry when Lynda moved away, and it was very exciting to be able to crash her house. The boys had spent the previous day with Lynda at Canada's Wonderland, but she had never actually met either of the girls. The girls had been really excited to meet Lynda, but only because Lynda happens to have a chihuahua. (Though, the chihuahua is only one of 3 dogs, the other 2 being a pair of deaf white Great Danes...) We met up with Lynda on Monday at the train station and while we had some sort of plan to do something productive, we instead ended up checking out but one church then hanging out in the park for the rest of the afternoon.
Side bar: I have to talk about my allergies here for a bit. Tannis has a cat, and Lynda has the 3 dogs, plus 2 cats and a parrot; I had been sucking back allergy meds like they were tic tacs since arriving in Toronto. However, it didn't stop me from being congested and itchy, and from developing a huge nasty sty in my eye that made it impossible for me to wear my contacts with sunglasses, which made for some very uncomfortable touring about. However, I did manage to survive, so long as the allergy meds kept on keeping on...
We cooked dinner in (pasta - yum!) then played a game called, "Let's Dance" on Lynda's Wii system. Poor Bill had pulled something in his hip/neck/back and wasn't feeling up to much of anything, but with all 4 kids it was a HUGE hit, and within literally an hour, I had found a Wii system on Kijiji to buy. After the girls went to bed, Lynda & I had some beergarita and (you'll notice a theme with the beergarita thing here...) stayed up late talking and catching up.
We got up ton Tuesday morning and the girls indulged in a little cable TV before we headed out to take in some more of Toronto. Lynda booked a couple of days off so she could have a staycation and had said she wanted to be a tourist with us so we hit downtown, the CN Tower, and rode on the Hippo Tour Bus before retiring back to the house to have pizza. Lynda & I stayed up late again, watching horrible reality TV and crappy late late late night talk shows; poor Bill still had a sore back :(
The plan for Wednesday was to go to Centre Island with the dogs in the morning, then head over and hop on the Go Train to Niagara. But I woke up in the morning with a throbbing sinus headache. After popping my antihistamines it dawned on me that I was no longer treating the symptoms but I thought great - what a perfect time to get my annual sinus infection. Bah. So I borrowed Lynda's bike, which was WAY too tall for me, and rode to the closest Dr.'s office. Which I actually rode past twice on the way there because I had NO idea were I was going... After getting my prescription filled and getting lost on the way home, too, we packed up and started walking to Union Station. Lynda was heading to Niagara in her car to meet up with us later.
On the Go Train I started feeling truly horrible - aching joints, sore skin, headache, and of course a dry, itchy cough... I was SO mad! I was cranky, tired, sore, and not much fun to be around. What a horrible horrible way to end the trip. There was no stopping though, so we checked into our suites (which had the most AMAZING view!) then had some dinner and headed down to the Falls. There had been some sort of incident at the Casino, so one of the security guards (who talked like he had a mouthful of sprung safety pins) told us to walk in the wrong direction and ended up turning into a freefall down a steep hill...
We went to the Journey Under the Falls and yes, I admit, I totally climbed over the fence and got some rocks for my collection. Blah. We hung out at the Falls until they lit them and set off the nightly fireworks which yup, were a total let-down after Montreal... I'm totally a fireworks snob now...
While Lynda went to the casino for her traditional mini-gamble, Bill & I left the kids for a few minutes and went for a walk to find snacks, then headed back to the hotel room where I crashed hard, praying with all my might that I would feel better in the morning, or at least well enough to make the most of the official last day on our trip.
I woke up birght and early feeling more human than I could have hoped for. We met up with Lynda and headed for IHOP to have brekkie. The girls had chocolate pancakes for breakfast, which they still site as being one of the high points of the entire trip... weird kids...
We went back to the hotel and packed our stuff up so we could check out and leave it at the hotel until it was time to head for the train station, then ventured off to Clifton Hill. We went on the Skywheel, visited Tussaud's Wax Museum, said a tearful goodbye to Lynda, went on one of the Ripley's rides, bought fudge, rode on the Maid of the Mist, had lunch, an collected our bags from the hotel to board the train from Niagara to Toronto where we would transfer to Train Number 1 which runs from Toronto to Vancouver. We were tired, hot, sticky, and ready to go home.
Side bar: I have to talk about my allergies here for a bit. Tannis has a cat, and Lynda has the 3 dogs, plus 2 cats and a parrot; I had been sucking back allergy meds like they were tic tacs since arriving in Toronto. However, it didn't stop me from being congested and itchy, and from developing a huge nasty sty in my eye that made it impossible for me to wear my contacts with sunglasses, which made for some very uncomfortable touring about. However, I did manage to survive, so long as the allergy meds kept on keeping on...
We cooked dinner in (pasta - yum!) then played a game called, "Let's Dance" on Lynda's Wii system. Poor Bill had pulled something in his hip/neck/back and wasn't feeling up to much of anything, but with all 4 kids it was a HUGE hit, and within literally an hour, I had found a Wii system on Kijiji to buy. After the girls went to bed, Lynda & I had some beergarita and (you'll notice a theme with the beergarita thing here...) stayed up late talking and catching up.
We got up ton Tuesday morning and the girls indulged in a little cable TV before we headed out to take in some more of Toronto. Lynda booked a couple of days off so she could have a staycation and had said she wanted to be a tourist with us so we hit downtown, the CN Tower, and rode on the Hippo Tour Bus before retiring back to the house to have pizza. Lynda & I stayed up late again, watching horrible reality TV and crappy late late late night talk shows; poor Bill still had a sore back :(
The plan for Wednesday was to go to Centre Island with the dogs in the morning, then head over and hop on the Go Train to Niagara. But I woke up in the morning with a throbbing sinus headache. After popping my antihistamines it dawned on me that I was no longer treating the symptoms but I thought great - what a perfect time to get my annual sinus infection. Bah. So I borrowed Lynda's bike, which was WAY too tall for me, and rode to the closest Dr.'s office. Which I actually rode past twice on the way there because I had NO idea were I was going... After getting my prescription filled and getting lost on the way home, too, we packed up and started walking to Union Station. Lynda was heading to Niagara in her car to meet up with us later.
On the Go Train I started feeling truly horrible - aching joints, sore skin, headache, and of course a dry, itchy cough... I was SO mad! I was cranky, tired, sore, and not much fun to be around. What a horrible horrible way to end the trip. There was no stopping though, so we checked into our suites (which had the most AMAZING view!) then had some dinner and headed down to the Falls. There had been some sort of incident at the Casino, so one of the security guards (who talked like he had a mouthful of sprung safety pins) told us to walk in the wrong direction and ended up turning into a freefall down a steep hill...
We went to the Journey Under the Falls and yes, I admit, I totally climbed over the fence and got some rocks for my collection. Blah. We hung out at the Falls until they lit them and set off the nightly fireworks which yup, were a total let-down after Montreal... I'm totally a fireworks snob now...
While Lynda went to the casino for her traditional mini-gamble, Bill & I left the kids for a few minutes and went for a walk to find snacks, then headed back to the hotel room where I crashed hard, praying with all my might that I would feel better in the morning, or at least well enough to make the most of the official last day on our trip.
I woke up birght and early feeling more human than I could have hoped for. We met up with Lynda and headed for IHOP to have brekkie. The girls had chocolate pancakes for breakfast, which they still site as being one of the high points of the entire trip... weird kids...
We went back to the hotel and packed our stuff up so we could check out and leave it at the hotel until it was time to head for the train station, then ventured off to Clifton Hill. We went on the Skywheel, visited Tussaud's Wax Museum, said a tearful goodbye to Lynda, went on one of the Ripley's rides, bought fudge, rode on the Maid of the Mist, had lunch, an collected our bags from the hotel to board the train from Niagara to Toronto where we would transfer to Train Number 1 which runs from Toronto to Vancouver. We were tired, hot, sticky, and ready to go home.
zoo, dandiyas, bindis, oh my!
We woke up bright and early on Sunday morning. One of the former professor's in our dept relocated to Toronto last year. I had been taking pictures for her for a couple of years, so when she found out that I was passing through town she asked if we could figure out a way to get together for a visit/session. Her friend from Uni also wanted in on the pictures. It ended up working out really well as my other friend Lynda had wanted to take the boys to Canada's Wonderland, which was not really the right place to take the girls; so off to the zoo we went.
Now, I don't really care for zoos - they're OK but I don't find them particularly exciting. However, we were treated to one very cool sight, besides the giraffe with his slobbery black tongue. While we were stopped at the gorilla enclosure, the baby started climbing up the fence. When it got too high, both the Mama and the Dad swooped in to pull him down. After having what can only be called a tantrum, Mama put Baby on the boob and after a few minutes she switched sides. It was pretty neat to see Mama cradle the baby - the girls thought it was pretty trippy.
After we finished up at the zoo, we zipped over to Little India, where we shopped till we dropped, had some uber-yummy food, and picked up some super-sweet secondhand saris. T grabbed some bindis, too, and so we went back to the apartment to have Indian Princess night, complete with make-up and Bollywood music. We called it a night relatively early so we could head out to meet up with Lynda for Day 4 in Toronto.
Now, I don't really care for zoos - they're OK but I don't find them particularly exciting. However, we were treated to one very cool sight, besides the giraffe with his slobbery black tongue. While we were stopped at the gorilla enclosure, the baby started climbing up the fence. When it got too high, both the Mama and the Dad swooped in to pull him down. After having what can only be called a tantrum, Mama put Baby on the boob and after a few minutes she switched sides. It was pretty neat to see Mama cradle the baby - the girls thought it was pretty trippy.
After we finished up at the zoo, we zipped over to Little India, where we shopped till we dropped, had some uber-yummy food, and picked up some super-sweet secondhand saris. T grabbed some bindis, too, and so we went back to the apartment to have Indian Princess night, complete with make-up and Bollywood music. We called it a night relatively early so we could head out to meet up with Lynda for Day 4 in Toronto.
t.dot: Tannis
Some of you may have heard me talk about T. Probably a lot. T is best described as my oldest, dearest, and truest soul sister. Separated by years and miles, sometimes both, we never seem to have the ability to shake the feeling of perpetual cohesion between our souls. We've been through marriages, divorces, kids, countries, and to hell and back both together and alone, many times over, and it was such a treat to be able to bring my family to Toronto since she usually brings herself to us, once every 6 to 18 months. Considering the last time I was in Toronto Serejane wasn't born, it was definitely my turn to make the trip :)
We were originally supposed to catch the train from Montreal to Ottawa at the downtown station, but when we realized that the Dorval station was right beside the airport where we had to drop off the rental van, I called and asked if we could save ourselves the time, agony, and expense of hauling all our gear back downtown and just board at Dorval. This was no problem, as the seats were always assigned on this particular commuter stretch, and after dropping off the van we were even luckier to learn that there was a free shuttle from the airport right to the train station - bonus!
After our fiasco feeling sick on the train after the first leg from Moncton to Montreal, Wil and I were smart to dope ourselves up on Gravol BEFORE boarding... let me just say, two big thumbs up for not feeling motion sick! We had a nice train car that, while we were all facing forward instead of at nice tables facing each other, was a) air conditioned and b) had WiFi. It was a short 5-hour trip which was surprisingly enjoyable, with lots of eye-candy in the way of rusty bridges, graffiti, and derelict buildings. Yay!
We arrived at Union Station feeling sticky and sweaty, but I didn't actually care because standing there in all her sweetness and beauty was T and the adorable R, who I'll discuss later...
Now, for anyone who doesn't know, apartments in Toronto are ridiculously expensive. Even ones in unrespectable neighbourhoods run you into the $1000s. And for those who prefer to live in respectable neighbourhoods, even the funky apartments that haven't been renovated since the 70s or 80s are disgustingly expensive. If you're OK with parquet flooring and fake marble tiling, it might not be an issue. However, it's not for everyone, and by everyone, I mean T. T & R's apartment is not horrible, but according to T, it's like a form of punishment to live there. However, living there affords them the ability to save for more important things like buying a super sexy loft and traveling, and since traveling includes their every 6 to 18 months trip to see me, that's A-OK with me.
We spent the first night settling into the suite, which is I think about 500 square feet. (Read: tiny.) Wil and Kaelan fought over who got to sleep on the balcony/sleep on the NASA space chair and Bill and; I took an air mattress in the living room, which was invaded nightly by the girls who would vacate their spots on the couch in favour of our bed, not unlike what they do at home.
We slept late-ish the second day, then got dressed and ready to spend a day exploring t.dot the right way: by chance on the Metro. We started out with a train ride to Eaton Centre to visit the mac store (apple, not make-up.) This was prompted by two things: Bill getting wine spilled on his iPod, and Kaelan stashing his iPod under my purse in the drybag while we were kayaking. My purse contains several things, including besides the usual lipgloss, wallet, and spare change... a 200mm lens, a fisheye lens, a pancake lens, and a Pentax K20 DLSR, which, even when set gently down on a seabed of gravel and silt, weigh roughly a billion pounds more than required to successfully crush the screen of an iPod.
After we stopped by Eaton Centre only to find out we had to make an appointment, we shook our heads at all the people standing in line for the iPhone 4 and it was off to Kensington Market via Chinatown. While I went gaga over a bonsai tree (I swear I'm in love and if there were any reasonable way for me to take home the one I wanted, it would be here with me now...) the girls went gaga over the parasols and Wil got a veritable rainbow of t-shirts. Unlike Chinatown here in Edmonton where it's more like buying stuff from a Chinese vendor, the prices there are a) flexible and b) super cheap. 5 100% cotton t-shirt, any colour you want, $10. And the further you go into Chinatown, the cheaper the prices get, though I imagine seeing the fish heads on beds of ice, inhaling the strange scents, and checking out the odd-looking fruit is probably enough to stop lots of people from venturing in further than the first few vendors.
Kensington is best described as an eclectic mix of artisan shops, second-hand stores, designer funk, handmade one-of-a-kind goodies, and scary cool mannequins. Apparently the rage in hipsterville these days is cowboy boots and fluffy ruffly pettiskirts. I can't see me rockin' it, though I do recall Serejane wearing nothing but cowboy boots and a tutu for her 2nd birthday. We grabbed a few gifts, then had a horrible experience getting street meat for Serejane who refused to eat even the plain rice if it came from a taco or burrito. A brief stint in the park to run it off, and we were off to Honest Ed's to stock up on, oh, well - you know - everything and anything. This trip we happened to grab some wooden spoons, $.77 underwear, and Ling Ling bubble blowers, amoung other things. I also grabbed some fluorescent religious statuettes in the spirit of Cool Hand Luke - who doesn't need a glow-in-the-dark saint for the dashboard? After Honest Ed's, we headed home for beergaritas, stir fry, and movies before bed.
We were originally supposed to catch the train from Montreal to Ottawa at the downtown station, but when we realized that the Dorval station was right beside the airport where we had to drop off the rental van, I called and asked if we could save ourselves the time, agony, and expense of hauling all our gear back downtown and just board at Dorval. This was no problem, as the seats were always assigned on this particular commuter stretch, and after dropping off the van we were even luckier to learn that there was a free shuttle from the airport right to the train station - bonus!
After our fiasco feeling sick on the train after the first leg from Moncton to Montreal, Wil and I were smart to dope ourselves up on Gravol BEFORE boarding... let me just say, two big thumbs up for not feeling motion sick! We had a nice train car that, while we were all facing forward instead of at nice tables facing each other, was a) air conditioned and b) had WiFi. It was a short 5-hour trip which was surprisingly enjoyable, with lots of eye-candy in the way of rusty bridges, graffiti, and derelict buildings. Yay!
We arrived at Union Station feeling sticky and sweaty, but I didn't actually care because standing there in all her sweetness and beauty was T and the adorable R, who I'll discuss later...
Now, for anyone who doesn't know, apartments in Toronto are ridiculously expensive. Even ones in unrespectable neighbourhoods run you into the $1000s. And for those who prefer to live in respectable neighbourhoods, even the funky apartments that haven't been renovated since the 70s or 80s are disgustingly expensive. If you're OK with parquet flooring and fake marble tiling, it might not be an issue. However, it's not for everyone, and by everyone, I mean T. T & R's apartment is not horrible, but according to T, it's like a form of punishment to live there. However, living there affords them the ability to save for more important things like buying a super sexy loft and traveling, and since traveling includes their every 6 to 18 months trip to see me, that's A-OK with me.
We spent the first night settling into the suite, which is I think about 500 square feet. (Read: tiny.) Wil and Kaelan fought over who got to sleep on the balcony/sleep on the NASA space chair and Bill and; I took an air mattress in the living room, which was invaded nightly by the girls who would vacate their spots on the couch in favour of our bed, not unlike what they do at home.
We slept late-ish the second day, then got dressed and ready to spend a day exploring t.dot the right way: by chance on the Metro. We started out with a train ride to Eaton Centre to visit the mac store (apple, not make-up.) This was prompted by two things: Bill getting wine spilled on his iPod, and Kaelan stashing his iPod under my purse in the drybag while we were kayaking. My purse contains several things, including besides the usual lipgloss, wallet, and spare change... a 200mm lens, a fisheye lens, a pancake lens, and a Pentax K20 DLSR, which, even when set gently down on a seabed of gravel and silt, weigh roughly a billion pounds more than required to successfully crush the screen of an iPod.
After we stopped by Eaton Centre only to find out we had to make an appointment, we shook our heads at all the people standing in line for the iPhone 4 and it was off to Kensington Market via Chinatown. While I went gaga over a bonsai tree (I swear I'm in love and if there were any reasonable way for me to take home the one I wanted, it would be here with me now...) the girls went gaga over the parasols and Wil got a veritable rainbow of t-shirts. Unlike Chinatown here in Edmonton where it's more like buying stuff from a Chinese vendor, the prices there are a) flexible and b) super cheap. 5 100% cotton t-shirt, any colour you want, $10. And the further you go into Chinatown, the cheaper the prices get, though I imagine seeing the fish heads on beds of ice, inhaling the strange scents, and checking out the odd-looking fruit is probably enough to stop lots of people from venturing in further than the first few vendors.
Kensington is best described as an eclectic mix of artisan shops, second-hand stores, designer funk, handmade one-of-a-kind goodies, and scary cool mannequins. Apparently the rage in hipsterville these days is cowboy boots and fluffy ruffly pettiskirts. I can't see me rockin' it, though I do recall Serejane wearing nothing but cowboy boots and a tutu for her 2nd birthday. We grabbed a few gifts, then had a horrible experience getting street meat for Serejane who refused to eat even the plain rice if it came from a taco or burrito. A brief stint in the park to run it off, and we were off to Honest Ed's to stock up on, oh, well - you know - everything and anything. This trip we happened to grab some wooden spoons, $.77 underwear, and Ling Ling bubble blowers, amoung other things. I also grabbed some fluorescent religious statuettes in the spirit of Cool Hand Luke - who doesn't need a glow-in-the-dark saint for the dashboard? After Honest Ed's, we headed home for beergaritas, stir fry, and movies before bed.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Borderline
Black as tar outside, surrounded by snoring masses of unwashed human flesh inside a sealed container, and it's not surprising that Lloydminster just brought a smile to my face. The next 3 hours are going to kill me.
Swear. To. God.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Watrous, SK
Friday, August 6, 2010
Good morning sunshine
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Yonge Street
Monday, August 2, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Toronto Zoo
Saturday, July 31, 2010
MORE Ling Ling
Did I ever mention how much I love Honest Ed's?
Honest Ed's
Friday, July 30, 2010
oasis in Ottawa
The drive to Ottawa from Montreal was, well - boring. There is nothing particularly scenic about it, and the crappy-ass shoulder-less highways were disappointing after the beautifully paved highways in the Maritimes. (Yes, I'm a highway connoisseur/snob now - get over it.) Anyhow. We pulled into Hull/Aylmer/Ottawa area right around 6, just in time for some beautiful baked chicken, BBQ corn, and yummy fresh green beans with Grampa Keith and Uncle Alex, Bill's Dad & youngest brother.
Anyhow, after settling in, having baths, and exploring the delightful yard, which has both a front, back, and lower garden, with the latter backing onto a creek that are accessible via a series of footpaths, we got a healthy sleep in, with NO plans for the following day other than visiting and relaxing. Wil slept, the girls played pick-up-sticks, and Kaelan went down to the creek to clear some of the overgrowth and build himself a dam. We managed to squeeze in a visit to the park for some tennis and shuttlecock tag (which, in case you're wondering, is like ball tag... where you throw the ball at someone to make them "it"... only using a badminton shuttlecock instead of a ball.) (It doesn't work very well, by the way.)
After yummy tacos for dinner, we agreed we would go check out a laser light show projected onto the side of the Parliament Buildings called Mosaika, which was truly remarkable and enjoyable; a nice mix of eye candy, Canadiana in both French & English and inclusion of indigenous perspective without being wishy-washy or promoting any one particular agenda.
Home to sleep, then up in the morning to see the Parliament Buildings in daylight, then hit the NAG and find some water for a swim. We went early enough to see the changing of the guards, then headed up the Peace Tower, something even Keith, who has lived there for over a decade, had never done. It was definitely excellent. After that we wandered around the grounds then hit one of the markets for MORE yummy cheese and fresh fruit and bread (why again don't we have these in Edmonton?) which we ate in Tin Square before heading to the NAG. Grampa Keith took the kids to the regular exhibits while Bill & I took in the feature exhibit, "Pop Life: Art in the Material World" which as Keith had warned us was totally unsuitable for children, and totally awesome... added bonus was that it was nice to have some alone time with Bill, something we so rarely get period much less on a holiday where we've been crammed into single-room or attached dwellings for almost 2 weeks lol
After the gallery we stopped at home for a quick snack and to grab our suits so we could find a beach. We swam at the Outouais River (where the previously picture seagulls swooped down on some poor woman's blanket and stole her entire block of cheese!) then went home for homemade chicken satay with peanut sauce and stir-fried veggies served over Basmati rice. We tied the evening up with wine and martinis, and a lovely little fire at the lower garden. I fell asleep with the girls, and woke up this morning with itchy contact lenses and a burning desire to not have a repeat of arriving at the train station in the nick of time. After a breakfast of "let's make some scrambled eggs and serve them with all the leftovers in Grampa Keith's fridge" we loaded up the van and drove to the PE Trudeau airport in Montreal where a (free - bonus!) shuttle dropped us and our piles of luggage off at Dorval Via Station.
As we were driving to Montreal, we did a mental inventory of all the things we may or may not have left behind along the way. So far, my camera is hopefully on its way back to Edmonton from Moncton; we'll have to call Grampa Keith and ask him to send us Ling Ling the Plastic Panda Ball and Bill's wedding band... not really too bad considering we've been on the road for almost 2 weeks, hey?
We are currently en route to Toronto for the final leg of our trip, and the girls are BEGGING to watch a movie on the laptop, so I'll leave off here and update again in a few days with details of all the fun and adventure with friends in Toronto/Niagara Falls. As for me, well - I've discovered that I get really motion sick on trains regardless of whether I'm facing forwards or backwards, so I'm off to pop some more Gravol and pray I'm not still feeling sick when we arrive in the t.dot in a couple of hours.
(And I must admit I am loving the iPhone pics taken with Hipstamtic thus far - they are WICKED cool!!!)
In Quebec, pretty much everyone can sell booze - the gas station, the Depanneur, the take-out sushi chain... In Montreal, beer and wine can be sold only until 11pm in certain places. In the area Grampa Keith lives in, you can only buy malt liquor at convenience stores and gas stations, but at any hour, but you have to hit a proper liquor store to get spirits or wine... Their solution to this for those of us who don't like that oh-so-popular malty drink BEER, they offer vodka- and rum-flavoured malt liquor coolers. That are technically modified beer with sucralose, fluorescent food dye, and citric acid added. They tasted like liquefied vomit in a bottle. Bill got me a 12-pack. ~urp~
Anyhow, after settling in, having baths, and exploring the delightful yard, which has both a front, back, and lower garden, with the latter backing onto a creek that are accessible via a series of footpaths, we got a healthy sleep in, with NO plans for the following day other than visiting and relaxing. Wil slept, the girls played pick-up-sticks, and Kaelan went down to the creek to clear some of the overgrowth and build himself a dam. We managed to squeeze in a visit to the park for some tennis and shuttlecock tag (which, in case you're wondering, is like ball tag... where you throw the ball at someone to make them "it"... only using a badminton shuttlecock instead of a ball.) (It doesn't work very well, by the way.)
After yummy tacos for dinner, we agreed we would go check out a laser light show projected onto the side of the Parliament Buildings called Mosaika, which was truly remarkable and enjoyable; a nice mix of eye candy, Canadiana in both French & English and inclusion of indigenous perspective without being wishy-washy or promoting any one particular agenda.
Home to sleep, then up in the morning to see the Parliament Buildings in daylight, then hit the NAG and find some water for a swim. We went early enough to see the changing of the guards, then headed up the Peace Tower, something even Keith, who has lived there for over a decade, had never done. It was definitely excellent. After that we wandered around the grounds then hit one of the markets for MORE yummy cheese and fresh fruit and bread (why again don't we have these in Edmonton?) which we ate in Tin Square before heading to the NAG. Grampa Keith took the kids to the regular exhibits while Bill & I took in the feature exhibit, "Pop Life: Art in the Material World" which as Keith had warned us was totally unsuitable for children, and totally awesome... added bonus was that it was nice to have some alone time with Bill, something we so rarely get period much less on a holiday where we've been crammed into single-room or attached dwellings for almost 2 weeks lol
After the gallery we stopped at home for a quick snack and to grab our suits so we could find a beach. We swam at the Outouais River (where the previously picture seagulls swooped down on some poor woman's blanket and stole her entire block of cheese!) then went home for homemade chicken satay with peanut sauce and stir-fried veggies served over Basmati rice. We tied the evening up with wine and martinis, and a lovely little fire at the lower garden. I fell asleep with the girls, and woke up this morning with itchy contact lenses and a burning desire to not have a repeat of arriving at the train station in the nick of time. After a breakfast of "let's make some scrambled eggs and serve them with all the leftovers in Grampa Keith's fridge" we loaded up the van and drove to the PE Trudeau airport in Montreal where a (free - bonus!) shuttle dropped us and our piles of luggage off at Dorval Via Station.
As we were driving to Montreal, we did a mental inventory of all the things we may or may not have left behind along the way. So far, my camera is hopefully on its way back to Edmonton from Moncton; we'll have to call Grampa Keith and ask him to send us Ling Ling the Plastic Panda Ball and Bill's wedding band... not really too bad considering we've been on the road for almost 2 weeks, hey?
We are currently en route to Toronto for the final leg of our trip, and the girls are BEGGING to watch a movie on the laptop, so I'll leave off here and update again in a few days with details of all the fun and adventure with friends in Toronto/Niagara Falls. As for me, well - I've discovered that I get really motion sick on trains regardless of whether I'm facing forwards or backwards, so I'm off to pop some more Gravol and pray I'm not still feeling sick when we arrive in the t.dot in a couple of hours.
(And I must admit I am loving the iPhone pics taken with Hipstamtic thus far - they are WICKED cool!!!)
Montreal - the unabridged version
When we finally settled in after our trying night on the train and our uninvitedly-eventful arrival, we had BBQ chicken (Bill went to the store to get supper and came home with a new skateboard deck?) and homemade hamburgers (SO nice after so much take-out/fast-food/restaurant eating in the Maritimes - I'm sure I've gained 15 pounds already lol) then vegetated until it was time to go to the fireworks, which were nothing short of mind-blowing. Buzz on the street is that Canada's entry was spectacular enough to warrant placement in the top 3. Our host, Fernando (who I wanted a pocket-version of - I love him!) said it was hard not to be blase about it since it runs eery summer for the same 10 weeks or whatever; I retorted that we come from Edmonton where we get fireworks on New Year's and Canada Day on a municipal budget and it was hard not to be impressed...
We tucked in three very tired children, and I proceeded to back up my pictures and start working on the official post-trip slideshow with a glass of wine and some air-conditioning ;)
At around 11 in the morning, my dear friend Alex and her handsome and funny fiance Ryan arrived for breakfast; we served up the last of the Prince Edward Island potatoes with a yummy omelette and cranberry juice. The original plan had been to head off to the Tohu centre for some free cirque, a it was the last day of the festival, but we were having such a nice time visiting we lost track of the time and ended up instead taking the Metro downtown, walking around Old Montreal for a bit, then heading up to Jean-Talon Market for some yummy cheese, veggies, fruit, and bread.
We tucked in three very tired children, and I proceeded to back up my pictures and start working on the official post-trip slideshow with a glass of wine and some air-conditioning ;)
Can I just pause a minute to mention two things.
#1) The public transportation system in Montreal is effing amazing. Not only are there commuter trains between major centres like Montreal & Toronto/Ottawa (something I seriously do not get about our lack of a similar system for Ft. Mac-Edmonton-Calgary), but there is an incredible Metro System that someone has been kind enough to make an integral part of Google's GPS map system so you can single-click to pinpoint your current location, type in your desired destination, and it'll bring up not only your walking and bus or train numbers, but how much it'll cost you. Damn, hey?
#2) It is impossible to not fall in love with the eclectic architecture and people of central Montreal. It is a bustling centre of culture, arts, history, cuisine, and more. From street performers and buskers to theatre and dance, from incredible graffiti to fine art galleries, from turn of the century mansions to adorable brownstones, tolerance and acceptance seem to be at the heart of this bohemian haven. I can't speak to the outlying areas, or the French-only/English-only neighbourhoods, though, and from what I understand there's no need to pay any mind unless you have a French vs. English bone to pick. For me, tout est bon.
We had meant to hit Atwater Merket but it wasn't really en route to any of the places we were heading that day, so Jean-Talon it was, and there are no regrets here. I don't understand why it's not possible for Edmonton to have a market open 7 days a week, too. I especially loved the (stinky, Wil would say) cheese market - a giant horse-shoe shaped sneeze-guarded glass counter with nothing but hundreds of kinds of international cheeses. We selected about 5 kinds (Serejane just about peed her pants when we told her she could get her own slab of feta, which she then insisted on carrying home in the 30-above weather...) and after a quick portrait with the blue cheese cow in the Hamel Fromagerie storefront window, we headed home on the Metro for a delicious meal... yum!
We turned in early so we could get a jump start on our second full day. Our pilgrimmage to Schwartz's Deli for what we were assured was the finest smoked-meat sandwich in all of Montreal began with a walk through St. Catherine's to the skateboard shop Bill got his deck at, to get Wil a pair of shoes. The ones he was wearing were purchased in September and smelled like he hadn't taken them off since getting them. We were all pretty perplexed with the psuedo-sewage odour that filled the space whenever he removed his shoes. The fact he only packed one pair of socks for himself didn't really help matters either.
Now, the skate shop is situated on St. Catherine's. Which is the gay mecca of Montreal. It is also the sex shop mecca of Montreal, replete with full displays in the store windows. Of course, I was fine with the gay district, and didn't have any issues with the kids being there either - even the pictures of same-sex couples embracing each other were cool. However, as we got nearer the skate shop, the sex shops had a full array of butt-plugs, vibrators, dildos, lingerie, lotions, etc. in a rainbow of eye-catching colours. While I wasn't particularly worried about the boys seeing such paraphernalia, I did have concerns about explaining it to the girls. Hurriedly, we found a nice little store peddling African collectibles, where Madisyn picked up gifts for her Mom and Gramma, then amused ourselves hanging out in the alleyways and admiring the tame-by-comparison graffiti...
After acquiring said shoes and consulting with Google Maps, we discovered that we were right along the bus route to get to Schwartz's, bu the bus wouldn't arrive for another 9 minutes. We figured it ould take as much time to just walk. We went right through Chinatown and up into the Jewish Quarter, stopping along the way to admire the sights and sounds, and of course to grab Slurpees (which are slushies there...) and two lens caps as one of mine had busted and I had wanted a squeeze-release to replace the somewhat time-consuming screw-cap for the pancake lens. We got our sandwiches and a few jars of Authentic Schwartz's seasonings then headed up St. Urbain Street to Mont-Royal where we refueled and relaxed (poor Serejane got a blister from the park), and decided that Mount Royal is really more of a grassy knoll, before walking back towards downtown via the University Area and embarking on our next mini-trip to the Biosphere at Montreal's Olympic Stadium Park. However, when we arrived, we learned that the Biodome and Insectarium had been closed since June due to a labour dispute, so decided we'd go check out the Botanic Gardens instead.
All I can say about the Botanic Gardens is WOW. The Bonsai exhibit was worth the admission alone, but the Japanese, Chinese, and Urban Garden exhibits were the icing on the cake. I'm excited now to go home and redesign our backyard, something Bill & I had discussed but really had no clue how to start before. We now have a kind of approach figured out and look forward to having our own little piece of urban heaven.
On our way back, since we kind of got shafted on the Biosphere, we decided to go in for a trip to the top of the Montreal Tower, which actually turned out to be pretty cool. he first thing the kids noticed were all the spiders. Thankfully, they were OUTSIDE the cabin of the tram, but there they were, freaking Madisyn out and thrilling Kaelan to no end - huge fat nasty-looking things. The view from the top of the tower was spectacular, but was also definitive proof that Mont-Royal is merely a grassy knoll (see image above) with the downtown skyline almost dwarfing it. But, I imagine it's the same thing for me to be unimpressed by their idea of a "mountain" growing up near the Rockies as their attitude toward their fireworks.
We took one last Metro-trip back to the apartment, where after a meal which included poutine (you can't go to Montreal and not have poutine, right?) Fernando joined us for a glass of wine and some picture-sharing. Did I mention how amazing our accommodations were or how much I adored our host Fernando? Let me mention it again, because it's so very true :)
We got up and packed early so we could have a couple of hours to walk around before picking up our rental van and driving to Ottawa. We walked across the Jacques Cartier Bridge to Ile St. Helene to visit the Biosphere (the geodesic dome at the site of the 1967 World Expo, not to be confused with the Biodome at Olympic Stadium.) While on the island, the challenge was put forth to find a four-leaf clover, which is worth $5 to the first verifiable find. With no successful find after about half an hour, we walked back across the bridge to the apartment, collected our bags, and cabbed it to the airport to grab our van and head off to Ottawa.
In a nutshell, I love Montreal, and will be adding it to my list of must-visit-again Canadian locations, right after Lunenburg.
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