Hey yes so it has been quite a while and I have been a tad preoccupied moving from place to place and sometimes internet can be sketchy so it can be a bit tricky to get posts out there. But no excuses, I'm going to try and get down as much as I can between finding some breakfast and watching Friends. The joys of hanging around when your friend is working.
Ok so, cut back to about 11 days ago, when I arrived in New York City on a bus fresh from Montreal. It had been an all night bus adventure, from Quebec City all the way to Montreal, then a 4am border crossing where a guard questioned how had I managed to earn enough money to be on my trip... Turns out having a full-time job at 17 is not overtly common... Anyway he believed me when he pulled up the GP Network on my file. I was amazed, how do they know so much? Suitably amazed, I passed into the country relatively easily, arriving in NYC a bit before 6am.
I managed to find some internet to find a nearby hostel, not before explaining to a guy working at the coffee shop in the station how backpacking works. 'So, you just carry all your stuff with you?' 'Yep.' 'All the time?' 'Yep.'
Trekking down 8th Ave with the sun rising and the street still thronging with people, I was completely amazed by the myriad of tall buildings that loomed from the streetside. It was truly like nothing I had ever seen. Skyscrapers everywhere, the tiniest scrap of horizon glowing bright with the rising sun. I was in Midtown, around 30th St, near the Empire State Building and just a bit south of Times Square. I ditched my gear at the hostel and, completely mesmerized by this humming, gargantuan city, I set out along 34th St, walking the entire length in a somewhat vain attempt to reach the ocean. Walking past Madison Squre Garden and the Empire State Building, I felt like I was walking through a TV. New York does have that sort of effect, you literally feel as if you could stumble into the set of Friends or How I Met Your Mother.
My first day I decided to do the Empire State Building, it was a clear day and not too crowded. The view from up there is so cool, like I have gone up some tall towers on this trip, the Space Needle, the CN Tower. But that was a particularly excellent view, Central Park splaying out in this large green mat, quite alien compared to the twisted steel urban jungle that dominates the Manhattan Island.
Anyway I have to go but I will continue this post as frequently as possible. Apologies!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
My First Legal Drinking Experience: A Pub Crawl in Montreal
So it seems a long time has passed since I last wrote, however it probably hasn't... 3 cities have happened though, 3 completely new sets of experiences, so I guess that contributes to making time stretch out a bit. (To be 100% correct 4 cities as I am in NYC now, but that's getting its own post so sssh.)
Anyway I have been really enjoying my solo perusals of far and wide locales but when Alex, my good mate from camp, offered me a couch for a couple of nights I was so stoked. Tyler, a fellow gapper, is staying at her place at the moment, so the prospect of seeing the two of them was an incredibly attractive idea.
However, there was a slight aberration to what was sounding like an excellent plan. This aberration takes form of my good friend the Greyhound Bus. Many an hour I have ridden upon this chariot of the proletariat, and whilst on whole it has been a very enjoyable experience, the particular schedule I was now interested in was proving to be far from that. Kingston, Ontario is only about x!km from Toronto. Not far you say? A couple of hours at most, even on a slow bus. That is what I thought too, but a quick squiz on the website gave me an unpleasant surprise. The Greyhound destined for Kingston was to take 12 hours. Yep, you heard me right. Turns out the route gets you within 50km of KIngston, then takes a very long detour through Ottawa. So that makes it an 8 hour trip. Then a 5 hour layover in Ottawa bus station is the cherry on top of the rubbish sundae that is that trip. There was another bus leaving the next morning that was only 8.5hrs (the 12hr bus left at midnight) but didn't reach Kingston til the evening. So, why pay for an extra nights accomodation and miss out on time with my mates for a mere 4 hours less on the bus. So I decided to take the thing, but as it was only like 4pm, I had some time to kill. A quick wander of Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto (where I got off my bus from Niagara Falls) revealed the largest cinema I think I'd ever seen. 24 screens and an entire foodcourt level. Insanity. So that killed some time, as did watching a very talented Japanese busker play the didgeridoo.
My time at camp has given me a lot of valuable skills and taught me many life lessons that will remain relevant for years to come, one of which has been in full use since I stepped off site. That skill is thriftiness. Taught by one of the best (Crumbles is the ultimate in saving pennies. He ate nothing but cold poptarts and the occasional Subway sandwich whilst crossing 4 different Canadian provinces over a couple of weeks.) I perfected the art on our many gapper adventures, Seattle especially. Being thrifty is no walk in the park, you need to work hard to get your points up. One of my personal favourites is the use of the travel mug, 10c off your drink at many places, if you pay for a small they'll usually fill it up to the top (which is soooo more than a small). Also if you get drinks at a fast food joint where you fill your own cup, using a waterbottle can get you almost twice what you paid for. Anyway I could talk about thrift forever but the point I'm getting to is thriftiness requires diligence and sacrifice. This particular instance however was taking it pretty far, even for my liking. I hopped off the bus at Kingston at about 1.30pm, covered in travel grime and stiff from sleeping in Ottawa bus station. A quick trip into the neighbouring Timmy Hos... gosh I love that place, got my meal for under $3. Anyway I was fuelled up and feeling pretty good, so I decided to walk to Alex's house. Cabs are expensive things, and I have not caught one without sharing it this entire trip. So, armed with my directions, I set off. After going the wrong way for a couple of hundred metres I managed to get on the right track. Alex lives on Division street, which was only a few hundred metres from where I was. I was pretty chuffed, I mean how long can a street be right?
As I walked past 885 Division St, I realised the answer to that question. Alex lives at 95 Division St. Awesome.
Despite this minor 800 house setback I was determined to prevent my wallet from thinning itself any further. I tightened my pack straps, put on a Hamish and Andy podcast and continued resolutely down the road. I'm no stranger to lugging my lovely 50lb pack about. I basically ran (ok so it was more of a forward stagger) 1.5km down Bay St in Toronto trying to catch my bus to Niagara when I got off at the wrong subway stop. Turns out this was a bit longer than that.
I started counting down, like I used to on a rowing ergo. In our 2km ergs I would think about certain distances, like off the start think about getting to 1500m, then 1k, then 500, then 200, then for the last 100m I used to count down the tens. This method seemed to work, pretty soon I was in the 600s, then the 400s, then the 200s. Gotta say, don't think I could have done it if I was just going to some random hostel, but the though of seeing Tyler for the first time in nearly a month and Alex in over 3 definitely helped. 2 hours later I arrived at Alex's door, so naturally, I was pretty stoked, then as she came bursting down the stairs and basically collided into/hugged me it was the best. Seeing a friend after a long time has got be in the 'Top Ten' Best Feelings Ever for sure. Just imagine how good that's going to be after being away for 10 months and seeing everyone at home!
Hanging out with Alex and Tyler was so nice, it was really wicked of her to put me up considering she already had her hands full with Tyler and her less-than-wicked housemate (the other 3 are really cool). It was pretty funny actually, I heard such stories about this particular housemate Tyler and I almost refused to go up the stairs and meet her. According to her all Aussies are 'cheap couchsurfers' and we were only being friends with Alex so we could sleep on her couch... Anyway so it was pretty hilarious when Crumbles (who was in Montreal) bussed down to hang out too. Three excess Aussies in a house already pretty full with 5 tenants. This was the first time the gappers had been all together since camp ended, and the first time we had all been with Alex since the end of summer. We went out for dinner, strolled the streets of Kingston and had a pretty sweet time. Things like that really do make you realise that camp is totally the people, not the place.
However, Alex had uni work to get to and we didn't want to impinge on the house any longer, so Crumbles and I decided to head to Montreal. We managed to convince Tyler to join us as the drinking age in Quebec is 18, so we could finally have those gapper drinks we'd wanted to have in Alberta when we had considered taking a bus to the border to have a few beers after summer ended. (That scheme was shortly abandoned after we discovered the bus was $150+) So the three of us hopped on a Megabus and we were in Montreal in no time. Checking in to the hostel (of Auberge Jeunnsse ? as its called in Quebec) we discovered there was a pub crawl scheduled. With Crumbles trans-Canada partner Oli joining the ranks, we headed out with the rest of the hostel crew to score some $10 pitchers. So my first legal drinking experience was a pub crawl in Montreal. Not bad I reckon. The bar was called the Blue Dog, I bought the first pitcher, we met 4 cool kids from Alberta and from there it was a pretty sweet night.
We ended up hanging out with the Calgary Crew, as we named them, for most of our time in Montreal. Crumbles and my food expenditures went out the window now we were with Tyler. The man enjoys fine food, and alot of it! Though he has improved (slightly) from his mammoth salad bar servings at camp, but he isn't quite at Crumbles and my level yet. I already mentioned Crumbles' poptart diet, and I have eaten Halloween chocolate for dinner 2 nights in a row so I'm not much better.
Another night we decided to hit some different bars, so we set out on the main strip of Rue St Catherine's to find ourselves some cheap beer. Unfortunately all we managed to find was 3 different adult shops, a couple of gentlemen's clubs, a salsa parlour and a 24hr 'adult film' cinema. We were almost about to resign ourselves to a strip joint... I mean they do sell beer... when we discovered McLaren's, an Irish pub a little down a sidestreet. Not only was it a good find as it prevented us from having to see half naked women, but they sold this things called 'giraffes'. They're like a big plastic column filled with beer with their own draught tap at the base. $20 for 3L. Genius!
Montreal was a sweet old time, we also visited the Biodome, the largest incline tower in the world (whoop?) and a rooftop complete with a giant milk bottle.
Tyler headed back to Kingston to stay with Alex for a few more weeks, and Crumbles and Oli had to head south to NY before their Greyhound passes expired. I decided to hit up Quebec City, but first I wanted to go visit Mina, who kindly let me stay at her place for 2 nights.
Now the gapper reunion couldn't be complete without a few failures, so Tyler managed to miss his bus because we went shopping and then sat in a Starbucks in a Chapters Store for like ages because I was out buying souvenirs and he couldn't get the internet to work. Our fails quota sufficiently satisfied, Tyler headed off, as did Crumbles and Oli.
I packed my gear and decided to leg it to Mina's. Turns out it was a pretty easy trip, cheers to the subway! My google directions turned out to be wrong, but luckily I have evolved the keen sense of direction only a backpacker can have... and by that I mean I have learnt to trust street signs over the internet. Anyway, I arrived at Mina's in the midst of a curry night she was having for a couple of people from her work. Which was pretty cool, because they were pretty cool, so it was nice to meet people. Plus I got a free beer. And try this delicious Indian icecream Mina had made. Her apartment was choice, 3 stories! The shower had TWO showerheads. I couldn't quite figure that one out. Also, the only shower I have seen in North American where you can change the water pressure independently of the temperature. Not a very interesting fact I know, but once you've lived here for a while, that stuff becomes interesting. Or I'm a massive nerd. You know what, it's probably the latter.
After sleeping in a double bed alone for the first time in 7 months (AMAZING!), on Mina's recommendation I decided to hike Mont Royal and then check out the Mont Royal plateau. Parc Mont Royal was beautiful, chockers with trees. It was quite eerie when I was there, the bare winter branches like sharp dark fingers, whilst the cold low fog swirled menacingly about, threatening to engulf you in its grey tendrils as you climbed higher and higher. I walked around Beaver Lake, and climbed some grass slopes cross country skiiers use in the winter. It would be an absolutely phenomenal place to be in mid Fall, when the leaves are all changing. Still, fallen leaves are better in the sense that you can kick them. And jump in piles of them. And make tracks in them.
There is meant to be the best view of the Montreal cityscape from the top of Mont Royal, but due to the fog there really wasn't much to see. I didn't mind, I have seen and will see plenty of cool cities. Plus, fog is still a massive novelty!
The Plateau was really cool. That was where Mina lived when she first moved to Canada. It's a mainly francophone neighbourhood, with heaps of cool little shops and the best poutine in all the city. La Banquise, a little 24hr restaurant started by a local firefighter and now run by his daughter, has over 25 different types of poutine, the national comfort food. I went for the classic. You need to have the original before you can try any variations. Also, it was the cheapest.
Poutine is hot chips smothered in gravy and cheese curds. The chips need to be soft, not crunchy and the cheese curds need to be 'squeaky'. It's delicious!! I wolfed down my serving almost embarrassingly quickly. I should have bought a book or something. That is one thing I haven't really got used to since flying solo. Eating alone at dinner time is not fun. For some reason, the other meals are ok. Not dinner though. So I have kind of given up on that meal altogether. Or replaced it with 2 minute noodles. Or chocolate. Health fail.
That night Mina took me to a local brew pub and we had a few delicious beers, all locally brewed. It was a good time actually, we talked about stuff, mainly sport. She is a mad keen rugby player and a Canadiens (the Montreal hockey team) fan. She was rather amused by my pledge to the Maple Leafs. It is true, they never win. But they are cool and have insanely dedicated fans, so its all good.
Montreal was an awesome trip, gapper reunions, meeting new friends and using a shower with 2 showerheads made it a trip to remember. Next stop was Quebec City for a night before south to the Big Apple.
Katie recommended Quebec's capital, so I didn't mind paying the extra $100 bus fares there and back (for some reason Greyhound doesn't go east of Montreal) and the $20 for the hostel. Stepping out of the bus terminal was quite a sensational feeling. I have never been anywhere where I felt such an instant sense of affection for the place. I literally loved it the second I stepped outside. It's a beautiful place. Even the bus station looks like some sort of ancient castle. Luckily for me I got to experience plenty of the streets as my google directions were once again wrong. Why I keep trusting that website, I have no clue. It was right for like 2 streets, but then it told me to turn up a street I swear to god does not exist. After a good hours wandering back and forth, talking to a nice local man about a wheat silo light show and a tiny electric bus, I decided to call the hostel and get directions. Fitting into a phonebox is not easy with a large pack with a guitar and tripod strapped to either side on the back and a small backpack on the front. I fished the cardboard brochure out of my bag and discovered it bore a map. Excellent. I had been trudging the streets of Quebec cluelessly for who knows how long with all the direction I needed literally under my nose. I finally made it to the hostel, a really cool building right in the middle of Vieux Quebec (Old Quebec). I ditched my gear and decided to get a quick look around with the last little bit of sunlight... at 4pm. Man I will never get used to it getting dark that early. Anyway my instantaneous love for the place continued to thrive as I checked out the ancient walls that used to protect the old fortified city, discovered an ice rink literally in the middle of a city square and walked through cobblestone streets sided with townhouses that would have been just at home in Europe.
The following day I decided to explore the whole place, visiting Chateau Frontenac, which is basically a big old castle. La Promenade du Gouverneurs, a boardwalk that gives spectacular views of the waterfront and the Citadel, an ancient fort that housed the Governor General for 200 years. Parliament Hill was interesting too, I learnt about the past Quebecois premiers. Strolling through the streets of Vieux Quebec was probably the coolest. Tiny modern shops encased in ancient buildings, graffiti of the fleur-de-lis and slogans such as Quebec Libre! were also reasonably common.
Although it was expensive to go there, I was super stoked I made the effort. A beautiful, fascinating city that was just so likeable! The only thing I was not a fan of was the prices, but mowing down on the $5 all you can eat brekky at the hostel eliminated that little problem.
All too soon, I had to go back to the castle and catch another 12hr bus to New York City. I totally thought I was being a genius by taking an overnight bus, I'm not one of your 'pay for an extra nights accommodation' style suckers. No siree. Turns out so was everyone else. However, the bus had wireless, so I was stoked. First I paid my way back to Montreal, then I was to catch a 'Neon' Greyhound down to the US.
But those tales are for later. This post is already of ludicrous length and probably boring you all to tears. If so, just close the darn window, please!
Nut jobs.
Anyhoo I'm off to bed, seeing Alex and meeting the famous Ben tomorrow, should be pretty cool. Adios!
Anyway I have been really enjoying my solo perusals of far and wide locales but when Alex, my good mate from camp, offered me a couch for a couple of nights I was so stoked. Tyler, a fellow gapper, is staying at her place at the moment, so the prospect of seeing the two of them was an incredibly attractive idea.
However, there was a slight aberration to what was sounding like an excellent plan. This aberration takes form of my good friend the Greyhound Bus. Many an hour I have ridden upon this chariot of the proletariat, and whilst on whole it has been a very enjoyable experience, the particular schedule I was now interested in was proving to be far from that. Kingston, Ontario is only about x!km from Toronto. Not far you say? A couple of hours at most, even on a slow bus. That is what I thought too, but a quick squiz on the website gave me an unpleasant surprise. The Greyhound destined for Kingston was to take 12 hours. Yep, you heard me right. Turns out the route gets you within 50km of KIngston, then takes a very long detour through Ottawa. So that makes it an 8 hour trip. Then a 5 hour layover in Ottawa bus station is the cherry on top of the rubbish sundae that is that trip. There was another bus leaving the next morning that was only 8.5hrs (the 12hr bus left at midnight) but didn't reach Kingston til the evening. So, why pay for an extra nights accomodation and miss out on time with my mates for a mere 4 hours less on the bus. So I decided to take the thing, but as it was only like 4pm, I had some time to kill. A quick wander of Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto (where I got off my bus from Niagara Falls) revealed the largest cinema I think I'd ever seen. 24 screens and an entire foodcourt level. Insanity. So that killed some time, as did watching a very talented Japanese busker play the didgeridoo.
My time at camp has given me a lot of valuable skills and taught me many life lessons that will remain relevant for years to come, one of which has been in full use since I stepped off site. That skill is thriftiness. Taught by one of the best (Crumbles is the ultimate in saving pennies. He ate nothing but cold poptarts and the occasional Subway sandwich whilst crossing 4 different Canadian provinces over a couple of weeks.) I perfected the art on our many gapper adventures, Seattle especially. Being thrifty is no walk in the park, you need to work hard to get your points up. One of my personal favourites is the use of the travel mug, 10c off your drink at many places, if you pay for a small they'll usually fill it up to the top (which is soooo more than a small). Also if you get drinks at a fast food joint where you fill your own cup, using a waterbottle can get you almost twice what you paid for. Anyway I could talk about thrift forever but the point I'm getting to is thriftiness requires diligence and sacrifice. This particular instance however was taking it pretty far, even for my liking. I hopped off the bus at Kingston at about 1.30pm, covered in travel grime and stiff from sleeping in Ottawa bus station. A quick trip into the neighbouring Timmy Hos... gosh I love that place, got my meal for under $3. Anyway I was fuelled up and feeling pretty good, so I decided to walk to Alex's house. Cabs are expensive things, and I have not caught one without sharing it this entire trip. So, armed with my directions, I set off. After going the wrong way for a couple of hundred metres I managed to get on the right track. Alex lives on Division street, which was only a few hundred metres from where I was. I was pretty chuffed, I mean how long can a street be right?
As I walked past 885 Division St, I realised the answer to that question. Alex lives at 95 Division St. Awesome.
Despite this minor 800 house setback I was determined to prevent my wallet from thinning itself any further. I tightened my pack straps, put on a Hamish and Andy podcast and continued resolutely down the road. I'm no stranger to lugging my lovely 50lb pack about. I basically ran (ok so it was more of a forward stagger) 1.5km down Bay St in Toronto trying to catch my bus to Niagara when I got off at the wrong subway stop. Turns out this was a bit longer than that.
I started counting down, like I used to on a rowing ergo. In our 2km ergs I would think about certain distances, like off the start think about getting to 1500m, then 1k, then 500, then 200, then for the last 100m I used to count down the tens. This method seemed to work, pretty soon I was in the 600s, then the 400s, then the 200s. Gotta say, don't think I could have done it if I was just going to some random hostel, but the though of seeing Tyler for the first time in nearly a month and Alex in over 3 definitely helped. 2 hours later I arrived at Alex's door, so naturally, I was pretty stoked, then as she came bursting down the stairs and basically collided into/hugged me it was the best. Seeing a friend after a long time has got be in the 'Top Ten' Best Feelings Ever for sure. Just imagine how good that's going to be after being away for 10 months and seeing everyone at home!
Hanging out with Alex and Tyler was so nice, it was really wicked of her to put me up considering she already had her hands full with Tyler and her less-than-wicked housemate (the other 3 are really cool). It was pretty funny actually, I heard such stories about this particular housemate Tyler and I almost refused to go up the stairs and meet her. According to her all Aussies are 'cheap couchsurfers' and we were only being friends with Alex so we could sleep on her couch... Anyway so it was pretty hilarious when Crumbles (who was in Montreal) bussed down to hang out too. Three excess Aussies in a house already pretty full with 5 tenants. This was the first time the gappers had been all together since camp ended, and the first time we had all been with Alex since the end of summer. We went out for dinner, strolled the streets of Kingston and had a pretty sweet time. Things like that really do make you realise that camp is totally the people, not the place.
However, Alex had uni work to get to and we didn't want to impinge on the house any longer, so Crumbles and I decided to head to Montreal. We managed to convince Tyler to join us as the drinking age in Quebec is 18, so we could finally have those gapper drinks we'd wanted to have in Alberta when we had considered taking a bus to the border to have a few beers after summer ended. (That scheme was shortly abandoned after we discovered the bus was $150+) So the three of us hopped on a Megabus and we were in Montreal in no time. Checking in to the hostel (of Auberge Jeunnsse ? as its called in Quebec) we discovered there was a pub crawl scheduled. With Crumbles trans-Canada partner Oli joining the ranks, we headed out with the rest of the hostel crew to score some $10 pitchers. So my first legal drinking experience was a pub crawl in Montreal. Not bad I reckon. The bar was called the Blue Dog, I bought the first pitcher, we met 4 cool kids from Alberta and from there it was a pretty sweet night.
We ended up hanging out with the Calgary Crew, as we named them, for most of our time in Montreal. Crumbles and my food expenditures went out the window now we were with Tyler. The man enjoys fine food, and alot of it! Though he has improved (slightly) from his mammoth salad bar servings at camp, but he isn't quite at Crumbles and my level yet. I already mentioned Crumbles' poptart diet, and I have eaten Halloween chocolate for dinner 2 nights in a row so I'm not much better.
Another night we decided to hit some different bars, so we set out on the main strip of Rue St Catherine's to find ourselves some cheap beer. Unfortunately all we managed to find was 3 different adult shops, a couple of gentlemen's clubs, a salsa parlour and a 24hr 'adult film' cinema. We were almost about to resign ourselves to a strip joint... I mean they do sell beer... when we discovered McLaren's, an Irish pub a little down a sidestreet. Not only was it a good find as it prevented us from having to see half naked women, but they sold this things called 'giraffes'. They're like a big plastic column filled with beer with their own draught tap at the base. $20 for 3L. Genius!
Montreal was a sweet old time, we also visited the Biodome, the largest incline tower in the world (whoop?) and a rooftop complete with a giant milk bottle.
Tyler headed back to Kingston to stay with Alex for a few more weeks, and Crumbles and Oli had to head south to NY before their Greyhound passes expired. I decided to hit up Quebec City, but first I wanted to go visit Mina, who kindly let me stay at her place for 2 nights.
Now the gapper reunion couldn't be complete without a few failures, so Tyler managed to miss his bus because we went shopping and then sat in a Starbucks in a Chapters Store for like ages because I was out buying souvenirs and he couldn't get the internet to work. Our fails quota sufficiently satisfied, Tyler headed off, as did Crumbles and Oli.
I packed my gear and decided to leg it to Mina's. Turns out it was a pretty easy trip, cheers to the subway! My google directions turned out to be wrong, but luckily I have evolved the keen sense of direction only a backpacker can have... and by that I mean I have learnt to trust street signs over the internet. Anyway, I arrived at Mina's in the midst of a curry night she was having for a couple of people from her work. Which was pretty cool, because they were pretty cool, so it was nice to meet people. Plus I got a free beer. And try this delicious Indian icecream Mina had made. Her apartment was choice, 3 stories! The shower had TWO showerheads. I couldn't quite figure that one out. Also, the only shower I have seen in North American where you can change the water pressure independently of the temperature. Not a very interesting fact I know, but once you've lived here for a while, that stuff becomes interesting. Or I'm a massive nerd. You know what, it's probably the latter.
After sleeping in a double bed alone for the first time in 7 months (AMAZING!), on Mina's recommendation I decided to hike Mont Royal and then check out the Mont Royal plateau. Parc Mont Royal was beautiful, chockers with trees. It was quite eerie when I was there, the bare winter branches like sharp dark fingers, whilst the cold low fog swirled menacingly about, threatening to engulf you in its grey tendrils as you climbed higher and higher. I walked around Beaver Lake, and climbed some grass slopes cross country skiiers use in the winter. It would be an absolutely phenomenal place to be in mid Fall, when the leaves are all changing. Still, fallen leaves are better in the sense that you can kick them. And jump in piles of them. And make tracks in them.
There is meant to be the best view of the Montreal cityscape from the top of Mont Royal, but due to the fog there really wasn't much to see. I didn't mind, I have seen and will see plenty of cool cities. Plus, fog is still a massive novelty!
The Plateau was really cool. That was where Mina lived when she first moved to Canada. It's a mainly francophone neighbourhood, with heaps of cool little shops and the best poutine in all the city. La Banquise, a little 24hr restaurant started by a local firefighter and now run by his daughter, has over 25 different types of poutine, the national comfort food. I went for the classic. You need to have the original before you can try any variations. Also, it was the cheapest.
Poutine is hot chips smothered in gravy and cheese curds. The chips need to be soft, not crunchy and the cheese curds need to be 'squeaky'. It's delicious!! I wolfed down my serving almost embarrassingly quickly. I should have bought a book or something. That is one thing I haven't really got used to since flying solo. Eating alone at dinner time is not fun. For some reason, the other meals are ok. Not dinner though. So I have kind of given up on that meal altogether. Or replaced it with 2 minute noodles. Or chocolate. Health fail.
That night Mina took me to a local brew pub and we had a few delicious beers, all locally brewed. It was a good time actually, we talked about stuff, mainly sport. She is a mad keen rugby player and a Canadiens (the Montreal hockey team) fan. She was rather amused by my pledge to the Maple Leafs. It is true, they never win. But they are cool and have insanely dedicated fans, so its all good.
Montreal was an awesome trip, gapper reunions, meeting new friends and using a shower with 2 showerheads made it a trip to remember. Next stop was Quebec City for a night before south to the Big Apple.
Katie recommended Quebec's capital, so I didn't mind paying the extra $100 bus fares there and back (for some reason Greyhound doesn't go east of Montreal) and the $20 for the hostel. Stepping out of the bus terminal was quite a sensational feeling. I have never been anywhere where I felt such an instant sense of affection for the place. I literally loved it the second I stepped outside. It's a beautiful place. Even the bus station looks like some sort of ancient castle. Luckily for me I got to experience plenty of the streets as my google directions were once again wrong. Why I keep trusting that website, I have no clue. It was right for like 2 streets, but then it told me to turn up a street I swear to god does not exist. After a good hours wandering back and forth, talking to a nice local man about a wheat silo light show and a tiny electric bus, I decided to call the hostel and get directions. Fitting into a phonebox is not easy with a large pack with a guitar and tripod strapped to either side on the back and a small backpack on the front. I fished the cardboard brochure out of my bag and discovered it bore a map. Excellent. I had been trudging the streets of Quebec cluelessly for who knows how long with all the direction I needed literally under my nose. I finally made it to the hostel, a really cool building right in the middle of Vieux Quebec (Old Quebec). I ditched my gear and decided to get a quick look around with the last little bit of sunlight... at 4pm. Man I will never get used to it getting dark that early. Anyway my instantaneous love for the place continued to thrive as I checked out the ancient walls that used to protect the old fortified city, discovered an ice rink literally in the middle of a city square and walked through cobblestone streets sided with townhouses that would have been just at home in Europe.
The following day I decided to explore the whole place, visiting Chateau Frontenac, which is basically a big old castle. La Promenade du Gouverneurs, a boardwalk that gives spectacular views of the waterfront and the Citadel, an ancient fort that housed the Governor General for 200 years. Parliament Hill was interesting too, I learnt about the past Quebecois premiers. Strolling through the streets of Vieux Quebec was probably the coolest. Tiny modern shops encased in ancient buildings, graffiti of the fleur-de-lis and slogans such as Quebec Libre! were also reasonably common.
Although it was expensive to go there, I was super stoked I made the effort. A beautiful, fascinating city that was just so likeable! The only thing I was not a fan of was the prices, but mowing down on the $5 all you can eat brekky at the hostel eliminated that little problem.
All too soon, I had to go back to the castle and catch another 12hr bus to New York City. I totally thought I was being a genius by taking an overnight bus, I'm not one of your 'pay for an extra nights accommodation' style suckers. No siree. Turns out so was everyone else. However, the bus had wireless, so I was stoked. First I paid my way back to Montreal, then I was to catch a 'Neon' Greyhound down to the US.
But those tales are for later. This post is already of ludicrous length and probably boring you all to tears. If so, just close the darn window, please!
Nut jobs.
Anyhoo I'm off to bed, seeing Alex and meeting the famous Ben tomorrow, should be pretty cool. Adios!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Niagara Falls: A Bad Canadian Vegas... to the Untrained Eye
Hey crew
Kind of interesting that my Toronto post was from Niagara and my Niagara post is going to be from Toronto... but I'm technically in Transit in Toronto. I got in at like 4:30pm from Niagara, weighed up a couple of options thanks to the free wireless internet you can get in various buildings in Toronto and decided upon this one: Waiting 7 hours and then taking the midnight bus to Kingston that in fact takes 12 hours because it goes the most roundabout way possible, when it could really take like 4. This doesn't sound like the best choice ever but its the cheapest (don't have to find somewhere to sleep tonight) and gets me to Kingston the earliest, thus not wasting any valuable time I have in this part of the world. I would be totally sold on this option if it wasn't for my good mate Crumbles being in the same city as me, but being virtually uncontactable. No harm done, I'm fairly soon our paths will be crossing very soon, maybe even in Kingston for a mini-camp reunion with Tyler and Alex.
So, my trip to Niagara Falls was never really on the cards, but Alex (Perth Alex) suggested it, she and her road trip crew had been there and enjoyed it. I had basically done everything I wanted to do in Toronto but couldn't go to Kingston til Monday, so I though 'Why Not?. This thought led to more awkward public transit catching with my large pack in tow. However, there has been a rather revolutionary development in the carriage of the pack, backpack, tripod and guitar. The tripod goes on the side of the pack, the guitar loops around the back of the pack and the backpack goes on the front. I discovered today that you can clip my backpack onto the front of my pack. This sounds lame but it was like the most awesome thing ever for me. Back at camp, Crumbles and Billy were always strong advocates for the front-pack, but I remained unconvinced until today, when a pair of Poms from Somerset I met at the hostel put the idea of clipping a backpack onto the front of a pack into my head. Now I can walk for miles without being super unbalanced and getting stuck upside down like a turtle if I drop a coin.
Speaking of walking miles, I had googled the location of my hostel (Lyon's House Hostel)and seen that it was a mere 3.5km from the bus terminal. In the interest of saving money and getting some exercise, I decided to walk. I'm still of both minds about that decision. Luckily I managed to miss the freak snowstorm that blew in and out literally half an hour before I arrived. Also, the walk led me from the normal Niagara Falls through to the tourist district of Clifton Hill. As I came upon Victoria Ave, I was really feeling the 25kgs or so I was lugging about. However, as I looked toward the skyline, my spirits were lifted by the beautiful sunset staining the skies hues of pink and purple. I could only imagine how beautiful the Falls must look in that light. The wonder of the natural beauty of the heavens was somehow deadened as I got closer and closer to Clifton Hill. To be honest, the thing that first led me to the Bad Vegas conclusion was a large glass walled building with the letters WATERPARK emblazoned in crimson across its roof. The giant ferris wheel and fiberglass Frankenstein holding a Burger King Whopper didn't help either.
Before I knew it, I reached my destination and met the friendly hostel owner Patrick. He was super cool, really welcoming and liked a chat. The hostel was awesome, a convereted apartment building with the healthiest and best free breakfast I've ever seen! Homemade rasberry-bluberry muffins every day!
That evening in front of the TV I met 2 girls, Shonelle and Lindsay, an Aussie and a Yank who had met whilst Shonelle was studying abroad in Nashville. They were cool, it was their first time in Canada and they had walked in to the country. Literally! They had flown to Buffalo, caught a bus to the Rainbow Bridge that joins the USA and Canada across the Falls, hopped off, walked along the Bridge, gone through customs and then strolled on down to the hostel, which is a 5 minute walk from the waterfront.
The following day, Patrick sent Shonelle, Lindsay and I off in a cab on the 'Disorganised Organised Wine Tour'. We drove along the waterside to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a cute little township that looked more British than Canadian. After stopping to see a few sights, the Whirlpool (a tight bend in the river where the water forms a current that can trap debris for weeks at a time) and the 'World's Smallest Chapel' (see the photo below... it's pretty small) we made it to Jackson-Triggs winery. We walked in and were the only people there so a nice young man called Austin took us for a tour and tastings. The tour was cool, he let us eat grapes off the vine, we learnt a bit about why the region was so well suited to grapes (the Escarpment stops warm air escaping so the area is always a few degrees warmer than the surrounds). We got to go behind the scenes, see how they loaded grapes into the machines, learnt the differences between fermenting red (horizontal machine where the wine is agitated so as to extract the dye from the skin) and white wine (vertical machine that allows the skin to float to the top), and saw the cellar where they let the wines mature. Even the barrels are an important part of the process, the usual American and French woods were used, as long as some experimental work with Canadian and Hungarian woods. After the tour we got down to the business of tasting. Now I'm no wine connoisseur but I thoroughly enjoyed the couple of reds and whites we tried. However, my absolute favourite was the icewines. Icewine is made by leaving the grapes out so late in the season that they freeze. Pressing frozen grapes results in a much sweeter, dessert wine that you can only drink in very small amounts. The Cabernet Franc was absolutely delicious! If I was able to afford/transport a $65 bottle of the stuff I would have done it in a snap.
After trying way more wines than we were supposed to, and getting free corkscrews from Austin (it probably had something to do with the fact that we were three lovely young ladies and he was a not half bad young man) we set off to walk back to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Lindsay and Shonelle, being Canadian newbies, had yet to go to a Tim Hortons, so I ensured that this sad fact was rectified. They were impressed... mostly by the prices.
Once we made it back to the town we looked about in the many small artsy shops and galleries. It was quite a nice change sightseeing with girls. I had done it so many times with the guys at camp which was super fun, but we definitely didn't get to look in little boutiques and the like.
That afternoon we were back to the tourist trap. Shonelle and Lindsay head off to Toronto, and I decided to go and check out the Falls.
I must say, they are very impressive. There are actually 2 Falls that make up Niagara Falls, the American Falls (the smaller one) and the Horseshoe, or Canadian Falls. This is the one that most people think of when they think Niagara Falls. That one totally trumps the American one. The thunderous roar of a million bathtubs a minute flowing over the slowly eroding rock is really quite something. At night, the Falls are illuminated by these giant beams of light. I thought this was kinda tacky, but it did make for some cool photos.
My last full day in Niagara I hired a bike from Patrick and set off for a ride to Niagara Glen, a bouldering and hiking site around the bend in the river. It was nice to get out to nature, I felt quite starved of it after being in the cities for the past 2 weeks or so, especially considering I pretty much lived outside for 6 months. Niagara Glen was really nice. I hiked around through heaps of boulders and forests, all the way down to the waters edge. So many seagulls soaring over the water's surface. It was super picturesque. The hikes were nice too, so many yellow and brown leaves everywhere for me to crunch. That never gets old. EVER.
That night the Winter Festival of Lights was opening by the waterfront. A whole bunch of illuminated displays, particularly of Disney characters, had been erected by the Falls. It seemed an odd sort of thing to do, but hey, the people and their kiddies were flocking! Personally, I was a big fan of the fireworks. My we are such a strange race, to celebrate by firing massive balls of light that explode into many colours into the night sky.
My final morning I capped off with my last sight I had yet to see, The Journey Behind the Falls. A large tunnel had been dug over 40 years ago underneath the Horseshoe Falls, so you can go there and watch the water plummet in this massive white sheet in front of you. There is also a lower viewing platform where you literally get to shower in Niagara Falls. The massive rainbows and amazing sight of the water rushing was totally worth the mild saturation.
Then back to the hostel to share a cab to the bus depot, onto the 2pm bus and here I am, back in Toronto. Just watched the new Coen brothers movie and have since been chilling in a foodcourt with free internet just down the road from the Greyhound station where I stowed my pack in a locker. But there is a dude trying to pack it up so I best skedaddle. Wish me luck for my 12 hour bus ride to Kingston! I'm sure it will be a ball.
What trip is complete without a ridiculously long and uncomfortable bus ride. I suppose at the least it won't be too busy.... I hope!
I'll post the photos a bit later.
Kind of interesting that my Toronto post was from Niagara and my Niagara post is going to be from Toronto... but I'm technically in Transit in Toronto. I got in at like 4:30pm from Niagara, weighed up a couple of options thanks to the free wireless internet you can get in various buildings in Toronto and decided upon this one: Waiting 7 hours and then taking the midnight bus to Kingston that in fact takes 12 hours because it goes the most roundabout way possible, when it could really take like 4. This doesn't sound like the best choice ever but its the cheapest (don't have to find somewhere to sleep tonight) and gets me to Kingston the earliest, thus not wasting any valuable time I have in this part of the world. I would be totally sold on this option if it wasn't for my good mate Crumbles being in the same city as me, but being virtually uncontactable. No harm done, I'm fairly soon our paths will be crossing very soon, maybe even in Kingston for a mini-camp reunion with Tyler and Alex.
So, my trip to Niagara Falls was never really on the cards, but Alex (Perth Alex) suggested it, she and her road trip crew had been there and enjoyed it. I had basically done everything I wanted to do in Toronto but couldn't go to Kingston til Monday, so I though 'Why Not?. This thought led to more awkward public transit catching with my large pack in tow. However, there has been a rather revolutionary development in the carriage of the pack, backpack, tripod and guitar. The tripod goes on the side of the pack, the guitar loops around the back of the pack and the backpack goes on the front. I discovered today that you can clip my backpack onto the front of my pack. This sounds lame but it was like the most awesome thing ever for me. Back at camp, Crumbles and Billy were always strong advocates for the front-pack, but I remained unconvinced until today, when a pair of Poms from Somerset I met at the hostel put the idea of clipping a backpack onto the front of a pack into my head. Now I can walk for miles without being super unbalanced and getting stuck upside down like a turtle if I drop a coin.
Speaking of walking miles, I had googled the location of my hostel (Lyon's House Hostel)and seen that it was a mere 3.5km from the bus terminal. In the interest of saving money and getting some exercise, I decided to walk. I'm still of both minds about that decision. Luckily I managed to miss the freak snowstorm that blew in and out literally half an hour before I arrived. Also, the walk led me from the normal Niagara Falls through to the tourist district of Clifton Hill. As I came upon Victoria Ave, I was really feeling the 25kgs or so I was lugging about. However, as I looked toward the skyline, my spirits were lifted by the beautiful sunset staining the skies hues of pink and purple. I could only imagine how beautiful the Falls must look in that light. The wonder of the natural beauty of the heavens was somehow deadened as I got closer and closer to Clifton Hill. To be honest, the thing that first led me to the Bad Vegas conclusion was a large glass walled building with the letters WATERPARK emblazoned in crimson across its roof. The giant ferris wheel and fiberglass Frankenstein holding a Burger King Whopper didn't help either.
Before I knew it, I reached my destination and met the friendly hostel owner Patrick. He was super cool, really welcoming and liked a chat. The hostel was awesome, a convereted apartment building with the healthiest and best free breakfast I've ever seen! Homemade rasberry-bluberry muffins every day!
That evening in front of the TV I met 2 girls, Shonelle and Lindsay, an Aussie and a Yank who had met whilst Shonelle was studying abroad in Nashville. They were cool, it was their first time in Canada and they had walked in to the country. Literally! They had flown to Buffalo, caught a bus to the Rainbow Bridge that joins the USA and Canada across the Falls, hopped off, walked along the Bridge, gone through customs and then strolled on down to the hostel, which is a 5 minute walk from the waterfront.
The following day, Patrick sent Shonelle, Lindsay and I off in a cab on the 'Disorganised Organised Wine Tour'. We drove along the waterside to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a cute little township that looked more British than Canadian. After stopping to see a few sights, the Whirlpool (a tight bend in the river where the water forms a current that can trap debris for weeks at a time) and the 'World's Smallest Chapel' (see the photo below... it's pretty small) we made it to Jackson-Triggs winery. We walked in and were the only people there so a nice young man called Austin took us for a tour and tastings. The tour was cool, he let us eat grapes off the vine, we learnt a bit about why the region was so well suited to grapes (the Escarpment stops warm air escaping so the area is always a few degrees warmer than the surrounds). We got to go behind the scenes, see how they loaded grapes into the machines, learnt the differences between fermenting red (horizontal machine where the wine is agitated so as to extract the dye from the skin) and white wine (vertical machine that allows the skin to float to the top), and saw the cellar where they let the wines mature. Even the barrels are an important part of the process, the usual American and French woods were used, as long as some experimental work with Canadian and Hungarian woods. After the tour we got down to the business of tasting. Now I'm no wine connoisseur but I thoroughly enjoyed the couple of reds and whites we tried. However, my absolute favourite was the icewines. Icewine is made by leaving the grapes out so late in the season that they freeze. Pressing frozen grapes results in a much sweeter, dessert wine that you can only drink in very small amounts. The Cabernet Franc was absolutely delicious! If I was able to afford/transport a $65 bottle of the stuff I would have done it in a snap.
After trying way more wines than we were supposed to, and getting free corkscrews from Austin (it probably had something to do with the fact that we were three lovely young ladies and he was a not half bad young man) we set off to walk back to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Lindsay and Shonelle, being Canadian newbies, had yet to go to a Tim Hortons, so I ensured that this sad fact was rectified. They were impressed... mostly by the prices.
Once we made it back to the town we looked about in the many small artsy shops and galleries. It was quite a nice change sightseeing with girls. I had done it so many times with the guys at camp which was super fun, but we definitely didn't get to look in little boutiques and the like.
That afternoon we were back to the tourist trap. Shonelle and Lindsay head off to Toronto, and I decided to go and check out the Falls.
I must say, they are very impressive. There are actually 2 Falls that make up Niagara Falls, the American Falls (the smaller one) and the Horseshoe, or Canadian Falls. This is the one that most people think of when they think Niagara Falls. That one totally trumps the American one. The thunderous roar of a million bathtubs a minute flowing over the slowly eroding rock is really quite something. At night, the Falls are illuminated by these giant beams of light. I thought this was kinda tacky, but it did make for some cool photos.
My last full day in Niagara I hired a bike from Patrick and set off for a ride to Niagara Glen, a bouldering and hiking site around the bend in the river. It was nice to get out to nature, I felt quite starved of it after being in the cities for the past 2 weeks or so, especially considering I pretty much lived outside for 6 months. Niagara Glen was really nice. I hiked around through heaps of boulders and forests, all the way down to the waters edge. So many seagulls soaring over the water's surface. It was super picturesque. The hikes were nice too, so many yellow and brown leaves everywhere for me to crunch. That never gets old. EVER.
That night the Winter Festival of Lights was opening by the waterfront. A whole bunch of illuminated displays, particularly of Disney characters, had been erected by the Falls. It seemed an odd sort of thing to do, but hey, the people and their kiddies were flocking! Personally, I was a big fan of the fireworks. My we are such a strange race, to celebrate by firing massive balls of light that explode into many colours into the night sky.
My final morning I capped off with my last sight I had yet to see, The Journey Behind the Falls. A large tunnel had been dug over 40 years ago underneath the Horseshoe Falls, so you can go there and watch the water plummet in this massive white sheet in front of you. There is also a lower viewing platform where you literally get to shower in Niagara Falls. The massive rainbows and amazing sight of the water rushing was totally worth the mild saturation.
Then back to the hostel to share a cab to the bus depot, onto the 2pm bus and here I am, back in Toronto. Just watched the new Coen brothers movie and have since been chilling in a foodcourt with free internet just down the road from the Greyhound station where I stowed my pack in a locker. But there is a dude trying to pack it up so I best skedaddle. Wish me luck for my 12 hour bus ride to Kingston! I'm sure it will be a ball.
What trip is complete without a ridiculously long and uncomfortable bus ride. I suppose at the least it won't be too busy.... I hope!
I'll post the photos a bit later.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Toronto: A Lot Bigger Than Perth. Really!
Hey team
I realise I am sort of playing blog catch up, so I'm going to try and hammer out 2 posts relatively close together so I can get my posts and my locations matching up a tad better.
Alrighty so I am in the city of Niagara Falls at the current moment in time however I shall be casting my mind back to those days, just a week ago, when I departed the beautiful warm climes and friendly company of Phoenix, and hopped on a plane to return to the Great White North. As usual Air Canada came through with the TV system, 3 excellent episodes of How I Met Your Mother, my routine favourite on plane trips.
Touching down in Toronto was all good, knowing I had Vanessa's apartment and good friend Jay to get me there I was pretty stoked on how easy it was all turning out. Immigration (as always) a bit stressful. I felt kind of out of place being the only girl in the line. They always look at you with this incriminating stare. Despite what their eyes said, I managed to happily make my way into the country, making my way into my 2nd Canadian province and Fifth Stop on my trip.
The next day I arose and went for a bit of a shop, stocking up on the very bare essentials. I was pretty happy with my food budget, I probably spent less than or close to a dollar on every meal. That afternoon I decided to puzzle my way into town via the Subway. Thankfully a kind local put me on the right track just before I attempted catching a bus the wrong way. It was quite nerve wracking not knowing where I was, Squamish was the last place I had to manouver myself about and I knew it like the back of my hand. So I promptly invested in a map, and armed with the TTC tokens Jay gave me, made my way into the city. I originally was looking for a visitors centre, but shortly abandoned this idea when a lady at the library told me I would have to get back on the subway. However, a pocket sized map dispensed from some automatic machine thing ended up becoming my saviour and I never went anywhere without it stowed safely in my hoody pocket. Consulting my new found papery guide to the city, I saw I was not far from the Royal Ontario Museum. I figured any museum with 3 names must be pretty sweet so I hotfooted it down there.
Managing to sweet talk the lady to giving me a students fare even though I have no proof I am a student apart from the fact I look like a massive juvie was a good idea, as this was not a cheap attraction. Guess you gotta pay by the name. Anyhoo I was so glad I went despite the high prices. I got to see some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, thousand year old parchment that had many fascinating inscriptions. I even saw one that was an original script from the Bible! It was pretty awe inspiring to see words that had so dramatically influenced the world I live in today. Kind of makes you wish you could wield that same sort of power... unlikely. Unless you are Ron L. Hubbard. Anyway...
I headed home through the rain and dark (yes, it gets dark at like 5 here) and rustled myself up some mighty fine pasta with sauce and vegetable hunks. A couple of episodes of Friends later I was in slarpyland. Ah, the excitement of being underage and travelling solo ;)
The next day I left the apartment with a plan, to hit the southern part of downtown. Having new found freedom of mastering the bus and subway route that takes me from the apartment to the city, I strolled on down feeling like the king of Toronto. The greatest thing about trying to find the 2nd tallest free-standing building in the world is you pretty much just keep walking at it until you get there. It's not like something else is going to block it. The CN Tower was pretty darn sweet, the view from up there was amazing. The city sky scrapers were nothing on the tower. Lake Ontario stretching out as far as the eye could see. I even saw lightning at one point. But, to top it all off, I came face to face with the World's Highest Mailbox. Yep, that's right people. Life-changing experiences, that's what trips like this are all about.
The next stop on my small paper with pictures drawn on it guided tour was something I thought apt to visit, the Hockey Hall of Fame. As the NHL Team I have decided to pledge my support to is indeed from Toronto (YEAH MAPLE LEAFS!) it seemed fitting. It was really cool, so many jerseys, gloves, sticks, pucks, you name it, it was probably there. I learnt alot more about Wayne Gretzky (or, The Great One as I believe he is referred to here) and saw the current and original Stanley Cups. Managed to find 2 Australian ice hockey jerseys, I'm glad we could represent despite our fairly blatant lack of ice. Probably the coolest thing in there though was the complete set of Olympic medals from every single modern Olympics, both winter and summer, laid out in all its splendour. It was super cool to see which cities changed the medals completely and which ones reverted back to the traditional type.
My day, which had otherwise already been pretty darn good, was totally capped off by the fact I bought 2 homemade delicious muffins for $1.57. Yeah man do I live it up.
My final full day in Toronto I wanted to ensure I saw the remaining sites I had decided upon. So I was up and at it nice and early, busting out my mad public transportation skills. I must say there is something incredibly freeing about getting the system down, especially as the Toronto subway makes the entire city so easy to access. I felt like a Emperor riding his Chariot into the great civilisation. Except I'm not a dude, my chariot was not horsedrawn and smelt kind of funny.
My first stop was the centre of town, Yonge-Dundas Square. When I stepped out of the station I realised I had not yet actually been downtown as I thought I had and that in fact Toronto was exponentially bigger than Perth. At first I had wondered what all the fuss was about. Seeing that square pretty much straightened it out for me. I just wandered about it for a little bit, the many billboards, signs, lights and screens had me rather preoccupied for a decent while.
My next destination was sort of where I had just come from. It was called the Eaton Centre and is a network of over 27km of subterranean shopping malls. With the subway in there, you can actually arrive, do all the shopping you could ever want and then leave without having to surface once. I guess its pretty good when its like freezing cold out.
Third sight I decided to see that day came on the recommendation of Vanessa, my friend from work who let me stay in her apartment. To get to the Kensington Markets, I went on a nice stroll all the way along Dundas St. West. It was pretty cool, lead me through Downtown, then China Town, then the artsy district (complete with giant glass art gallery) before arriving at Kensington. The vibe there was super cool, like the Freo markets but actual permanent stores. However, they seemed just as ramshackle but lets call it character. Real sort of hippy ville, but the stuff there was awesome. I grabbed an organic fair trade mocha at Wanda's Pie in the Sky and scored Livi's Canadian present. A successful visit that was finished nicely by seeing an old car full to the brim of dirt and bursting at the seams with plants. The hood at even come off to reveal a small lawn. Definitely objectified the feel of the area.
My final stop on my marathon sightseeing trip was a decent walk north of town, that led me up past the University of Toronto. That is one large campus I must say. I arrived at my final destination after a good hour or so. Casa Loma, a huge castle home built by wealthy Canadian financier Sir Henry Pellatt. Unfortunately it eventually stripped him of his wealth, but it was pretty cool to look at all the same. The thing truly was a castle, complete with Gothic architecture, stables, a Great Hall and 2 massive towers. Certainly got some cool views from up there. It was so empty and creepy though, I have no clue how he and his wife could have lived there alone.
To sum it all up, Toronto was a super cool city, and although I'm generally not so partial to the whole city business, I did really enjoy my time there and am so glad I decided to tour Eastern Canada, which was never originally on the cards.
Here are the photographic images I managed to rustle up while I was there:
The Royal Ontario Museum
Toronto from the CN Tower
The glass floor at the CN Tower. Creepy to stand on, but pretty cool too. Apparently can hold the weight of 61 hippos... why?
Randoms enjoying the glass floor
The complete set of all the Olympic medals at the Hockey Hall of Fame
Yonge-Dundas Square
Part of the University of Toronto campus... and a streetcar!
The Great Hall at Casa Loma
Toronto skyline from the East Tower
Casa Loma
I realise I am sort of playing blog catch up, so I'm going to try and hammer out 2 posts relatively close together so I can get my posts and my locations matching up a tad better.
Alrighty so I am in the city of Niagara Falls at the current moment in time however I shall be casting my mind back to those days, just a week ago, when I departed the beautiful warm climes and friendly company of Phoenix, and hopped on a plane to return to the Great White North. As usual Air Canada came through with the TV system, 3 excellent episodes of How I Met Your Mother, my routine favourite on plane trips.
Touching down in Toronto was all good, knowing I had Vanessa's apartment and good friend Jay to get me there I was pretty stoked on how easy it was all turning out. Immigration (as always) a bit stressful. I felt kind of out of place being the only girl in the line. They always look at you with this incriminating stare. Despite what their eyes said, I managed to happily make my way into the country, making my way into my 2nd Canadian province and Fifth Stop on my trip.
The next day I arose and went for a bit of a shop, stocking up on the very bare essentials. I was pretty happy with my food budget, I probably spent less than or close to a dollar on every meal. That afternoon I decided to puzzle my way into town via the Subway. Thankfully a kind local put me on the right track just before I attempted catching a bus the wrong way. It was quite nerve wracking not knowing where I was, Squamish was the last place I had to manouver myself about and I knew it like the back of my hand. So I promptly invested in a map, and armed with the TTC tokens Jay gave me, made my way into the city. I originally was looking for a visitors centre, but shortly abandoned this idea when a lady at the library told me I would have to get back on the subway. However, a pocket sized map dispensed from some automatic machine thing ended up becoming my saviour and I never went anywhere without it stowed safely in my hoody pocket. Consulting my new found papery guide to the city, I saw I was not far from the Royal Ontario Museum. I figured any museum with 3 names must be pretty sweet so I hotfooted it down there.
Managing to sweet talk the lady to giving me a students fare even though I have no proof I am a student apart from the fact I look like a massive juvie was a good idea, as this was not a cheap attraction. Guess you gotta pay by the name. Anyhoo I was so glad I went despite the high prices. I got to see some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, thousand year old parchment that had many fascinating inscriptions. I even saw one that was an original script from the Bible! It was pretty awe inspiring to see words that had so dramatically influenced the world I live in today. Kind of makes you wish you could wield that same sort of power... unlikely. Unless you are Ron L. Hubbard. Anyway...
I headed home through the rain and dark (yes, it gets dark at like 5 here) and rustled myself up some mighty fine pasta with sauce and vegetable hunks. A couple of episodes of Friends later I was in slarpyland. Ah, the excitement of being underage and travelling solo ;)
The next day I left the apartment with a plan, to hit the southern part of downtown. Having new found freedom of mastering the bus and subway route that takes me from the apartment to the city, I strolled on down feeling like the king of Toronto. The greatest thing about trying to find the 2nd tallest free-standing building in the world is you pretty much just keep walking at it until you get there. It's not like something else is going to block it. The CN Tower was pretty darn sweet, the view from up there was amazing. The city sky scrapers were nothing on the tower. Lake Ontario stretching out as far as the eye could see. I even saw lightning at one point. But, to top it all off, I came face to face with the World's Highest Mailbox. Yep, that's right people. Life-changing experiences, that's what trips like this are all about.
The next stop on my small paper with pictures drawn on it guided tour was something I thought apt to visit, the Hockey Hall of Fame. As the NHL Team I have decided to pledge my support to is indeed from Toronto (YEAH MAPLE LEAFS!) it seemed fitting. It was really cool, so many jerseys, gloves, sticks, pucks, you name it, it was probably there. I learnt alot more about Wayne Gretzky (or, The Great One as I believe he is referred to here) and saw the current and original Stanley Cups. Managed to find 2 Australian ice hockey jerseys, I'm glad we could represent despite our fairly blatant lack of ice. Probably the coolest thing in there though was the complete set of Olympic medals from every single modern Olympics, both winter and summer, laid out in all its splendour. It was super cool to see which cities changed the medals completely and which ones reverted back to the traditional type.
My day, which had otherwise already been pretty darn good, was totally capped off by the fact I bought 2 homemade delicious muffins for $1.57. Yeah man do I live it up.
My final full day in Toronto I wanted to ensure I saw the remaining sites I had decided upon. So I was up and at it nice and early, busting out my mad public transportation skills. I must say there is something incredibly freeing about getting the system down, especially as the Toronto subway makes the entire city so easy to access. I felt like a Emperor riding his Chariot into the great civilisation. Except I'm not a dude, my chariot was not horsedrawn and smelt kind of funny.
My first stop was the centre of town, Yonge-Dundas Square. When I stepped out of the station I realised I had not yet actually been downtown as I thought I had and that in fact Toronto was exponentially bigger than Perth. At first I had wondered what all the fuss was about. Seeing that square pretty much straightened it out for me. I just wandered about it for a little bit, the many billboards, signs, lights and screens had me rather preoccupied for a decent while.
My next destination was sort of where I had just come from. It was called the Eaton Centre and is a network of over 27km of subterranean shopping malls. With the subway in there, you can actually arrive, do all the shopping you could ever want and then leave without having to surface once. I guess its pretty good when its like freezing cold out.
Third sight I decided to see that day came on the recommendation of Vanessa, my friend from work who let me stay in her apartment. To get to the Kensington Markets, I went on a nice stroll all the way along Dundas St. West. It was pretty cool, lead me through Downtown, then China Town, then the artsy district (complete with giant glass art gallery) before arriving at Kensington. The vibe there was super cool, like the Freo markets but actual permanent stores. However, they seemed just as ramshackle but lets call it character. Real sort of hippy ville, but the stuff there was awesome. I grabbed an organic fair trade mocha at Wanda's Pie in the Sky and scored Livi's Canadian present. A successful visit that was finished nicely by seeing an old car full to the brim of dirt and bursting at the seams with plants. The hood at even come off to reveal a small lawn. Definitely objectified the feel of the area.
My final stop on my marathon sightseeing trip was a decent walk north of town, that led me up past the University of Toronto. That is one large campus I must say. I arrived at my final destination after a good hour or so. Casa Loma, a huge castle home built by wealthy Canadian financier Sir Henry Pellatt. Unfortunately it eventually stripped him of his wealth, but it was pretty cool to look at all the same. The thing truly was a castle, complete with Gothic architecture, stables, a Great Hall and 2 massive towers. Certainly got some cool views from up there. It was so empty and creepy though, I have no clue how he and his wife could have lived there alone.
To sum it all up, Toronto was a super cool city, and although I'm generally not so partial to the whole city business, I did really enjoy my time there and am so glad I decided to tour Eastern Canada, which was never originally on the cards.
Here are the photographic images I managed to rustle up while I was there:
The Royal Ontario Museum
Toronto from the CN Tower
The glass floor at the CN Tower. Creepy to stand on, but pretty cool too. Apparently can hold the weight of 61 hippos... why?
Randoms enjoying the glass floor
The complete set of all the Olympic medals at the Hockey Hall of Fame
Yonge-Dundas Square
Part of the University of Toronto campus... and a streetcar!
The Great Hall at Casa Loma
Toronto skyline from the East Tower
Casa Loma
Monday, November 2, 2009
Phoenix: Pink Jeeps, Fine Dining and a Re-assessment of 'America'
Hey crew
Just thought I'd clarify, I am in Toronto at the moment, but this post is intended to be about Phoenix where I just was. I would have posted from there, but I was having way too much fun with Dave, Vicki, Summer, Kylie and Mum to spend the time it takes to write a post. However, being in Toronto by myself provides a multitude of time. Mainly because I decided I didn't really want to be too far from the apartment I'm staying at after dark.... and it gets dark at like 5pm. Anyway free Toronto Public Library Internet sounded pretty good to me.
So Phoenix was a really sweet time, the Vacala's picked me up from the airport and from then on they were the best hosts ever. It was like luxury, having my own room, not having to sleep in a sleeping bag, getting to choose what we ate... heaven! Vicki even took me to Sprouts to buy trail mix as I told her I'd been craving nuts since camp is a nut free zone. It's crazy how much Summer and Kylie have grown since I last saw them about 4 and a half years ago. They're so big! And fun to hang out with. We had some good times playing airplane and walking to Walgreens to buy Arizona Iced Tea. You know it tastes even better in Arizona... and at only $1 a giant can how can you say no?
Anyway so Mum arrived a couple of days later (after Vicki and I went and bought amazing Belgian chocolates and even more amazing Belgian chocolate drinks) and I was pretty stoked. It was so nice to be able to see someone from home, especially Mum, after quite a while. At first it was kinda weird having a Mum again, but I liked it!
We got down to business once Mum arrived, going to San Tan Flats for dinner... best burgers ever!! Then we went hiking at South Mountain amongst the most cacti I think I have ever seen in my life.
Vicki drove us to Sedona to go on a Pink Jeep ride through the red rocks. It was spectacular, despite being incredibly windy and a little chilly. For a while I had an advantage coming from BC to the much warmer climes of Arizona, but after a week or so my internal thermostat seemed to revert to Australian sensitivity. However, I thought I was going to be colder once I got to Toronto, but so far 8 degrees and one hoody seem to be doing ok. We'll see how it goes if it snows on Thursday like the forecast says.
Anyway.... that night we spent at the college town of Flagstaff. It was amazing to be able to literally see the climate changing as we drove to higher and higher elevations, the cacti quickly disappeared to leave large shrubs which progressively became tall Alpine trees. It was pretty sweet. Flagstaff was neat, had an amazing dinner at this place Vicki frequents that was really good but I can't remember the name of for some reason. It sort of snowed that night, just like the blowy stuff that is really more of a nuisance than anything else but Mum and I didn't think so. Novelty of falling snow definitely not worn off yet. I'll keep you posted as to when that will happen. Don't hold your breath.
Before we headed south to warmer climes, Vicki drove us to this really large crater that was quite literally in the middle of nowhere. And when I say nowhere, I mean nowhere. Like, it was so nowhere there weren't even trees or shrubs or anything. Just kind of lame looking grass and a few rocks. But the crater itself was cool, it was like 50 000 years old and created by a very large iron meteorite. It was so big, you couldn't see a 6ft tall painted person at the bottom with the naked eye from the viewing platform on the edge. Just large. You could fit like 6 football games in the bottom or something. I thought it was pretty cool.
Once we returned safely to Chandler, having narrowly missed a decent size dust storm, Mum, Vicki and I got down to proper business. Shopping. Mum found lots of interesting shops and ideas to no doubt pester the family with upon her return. JOKES MUM LOVE YA! I actually think they are good ideas! Saw a couple of Williams-Sonoma stores in Toronto today. Anyway I discovered a Vans store so promptly spent the most money I have in AGES... but well worth it I feel.
I really hope that's not rain I can hear.... I don't want to walk home in the rain!
Digression? A tad. Anyway so Dave and Vicki had a little partay on my second last night which was super cool, Mum and I got to meet a bunch of their mates. It was really fun, they were all super nice and asked me heaps about my trip and stuff. Loads of them had traveled a decent bit too so it was cool to share stories and that.
My last night was Halloween, and I was lucky enough to be taken trick or treating for the first time, at the ripe old age of 18, by 2 genuine Americans in a genuine American neighbourhood. Result? 173 pieces of candy. Yep. And apparently that was a low figure as the neighbourhood isn't finished yet. Last years take was in the 300s. Ridiculous? Delicious! It was actually super fun walking around seeing everyone in their costumes, all the houses were like super decorated with pumpkins, lights, fake gravestones, inflatable skeletons, music, dry ice, the whole shebang! All the parents were like chillin out the front of their houses drinking beer and handing out lollies. It has a really cool vibe actually, maybe we should try and see if it will catch on at home. Upsetting for me, I couldn't physically take the gigantic piles of candy I had managed to stockpile, but Summer and Kylie were more than happy to take the rejects off my hands. I will probably not have to buy a chocolate bar until I return home, which I suppose from a budget perspective is pretty good.
So to sum up my trip to Phoenix I must say it was really enjoyable. Staying at the Vacala's house was awesome as it was like living with a family again. Also, the places I went and the people I met helped me shrug off the unfair stereotype of 'Americans' that is constantly perpetrated by overseas media and formulate my own opinions on the country and its people. Sure, there are those who can be ignorant or racist or whatever (just a quick note, I always knew Dave and Vicki were definitely not the stereotypical American Aussie media likes to scapegoat... just in case it sounded weird), but they are certainly not even close to being as widespread as the Australian and UK media would have you believe. Also, the country itself is not an urban wasteland, but home to some beautiful scenery and untouched ecosystems, that are quite hard to come by in modern times. What I mean by all this is, I urge any non-American, next time you have a go at the Seppos, try to avoid generalizing them or their country, as it is a pretty amazing place home to some really cool people.
Anyway, enough rambling. Photographs often tell the story better than words, so here are some of the shots I took whilst in Arizona.
Mum with the rather amusing cactus we found on South Mountain
Me in Fat Man's Gap, at South Mountain
Mum and I on our South Mountain hike
Mum and Vicki at South Moutain
Summer and Kylie, looking very grown up compared to last time
My Halloween pumpkin
Vicki, Mum and I trying not to get blown over whilst on the Pink Jeep ride in Sedona
Some of Sedona's beautiful erosional formations
The Pink Jeep
Us with the Pink Jeep
Ever wondered what a 50 000 year old meteorite crater looks like? That.
Mum and I at the Crater
The flattest, emptiest place I have ever seen a giant hole in the middle of.
Mum and Dave at the Morning Glory cafe having breakfast
Just thought I'd clarify, I am in Toronto at the moment, but this post is intended to be about Phoenix where I just was. I would have posted from there, but I was having way too much fun with Dave, Vicki, Summer, Kylie and Mum to spend the time it takes to write a post. However, being in Toronto by myself provides a multitude of time. Mainly because I decided I didn't really want to be too far from the apartment I'm staying at after dark.... and it gets dark at like 5pm. Anyway free Toronto Public Library Internet sounded pretty good to me.
So Phoenix was a really sweet time, the Vacala's picked me up from the airport and from then on they were the best hosts ever. It was like luxury, having my own room, not having to sleep in a sleeping bag, getting to choose what we ate... heaven! Vicki even took me to Sprouts to buy trail mix as I told her I'd been craving nuts since camp is a nut free zone. It's crazy how much Summer and Kylie have grown since I last saw them about 4 and a half years ago. They're so big! And fun to hang out with. We had some good times playing airplane and walking to Walgreens to buy Arizona Iced Tea. You know it tastes even better in Arizona... and at only $1 a giant can how can you say no?
Anyway so Mum arrived a couple of days later (after Vicki and I went and bought amazing Belgian chocolates and even more amazing Belgian chocolate drinks) and I was pretty stoked. It was so nice to be able to see someone from home, especially Mum, after quite a while. At first it was kinda weird having a Mum again, but I liked it!
We got down to business once Mum arrived, going to San Tan Flats for dinner... best burgers ever!! Then we went hiking at South Mountain amongst the most cacti I think I have ever seen in my life.
Vicki drove us to Sedona to go on a Pink Jeep ride through the red rocks. It was spectacular, despite being incredibly windy and a little chilly. For a while I had an advantage coming from BC to the much warmer climes of Arizona, but after a week or so my internal thermostat seemed to revert to Australian sensitivity. However, I thought I was going to be colder once I got to Toronto, but so far 8 degrees and one hoody seem to be doing ok. We'll see how it goes if it snows on Thursday like the forecast says.
Anyway.... that night we spent at the college town of Flagstaff. It was amazing to be able to literally see the climate changing as we drove to higher and higher elevations, the cacti quickly disappeared to leave large shrubs which progressively became tall Alpine trees. It was pretty sweet. Flagstaff was neat, had an amazing dinner at this place Vicki frequents that was really good but I can't remember the name of for some reason. It sort of snowed that night, just like the blowy stuff that is really more of a nuisance than anything else but Mum and I didn't think so. Novelty of falling snow definitely not worn off yet. I'll keep you posted as to when that will happen. Don't hold your breath.
Before we headed south to warmer climes, Vicki drove us to this really large crater that was quite literally in the middle of nowhere. And when I say nowhere, I mean nowhere. Like, it was so nowhere there weren't even trees or shrubs or anything. Just kind of lame looking grass and a few rocks. But the crater itself was cool, it was like 50 000 years old and created by a very large iron meteorite. It was so big, you couldn't see a 6ft tall painted person at the bottom with the naked eye from the viewing platform on the edge. Just large. You could fit like 6 football games in the bottom or something. I thought it was pretty cool.
Once we returned safely to Chandler, having narrowly missed a decent size dust storm, Mum, Vicki and I got down to proper business. Shopping. Mum found lots of interesting shops and ideas to no doubt pester the family with upon her return. JOKES MUM LOVE YA! I actually think they are good ideas! Saw a couple of Williams-Sonoma stores in Toronto today. Anyway I discovered a Vans store so promptly spent the most money I have in AGES... but well worth it I feel.
I really hope that's not rain I can hear.... I don't want to walk home in the rain!
Digression? A tad. Anyway so Dave and Vicki had a little partay on my second last night which was super cool, Mum and I got to meet a bunch of their mates. It was really fun, they were all super nice and asked me heaps about my trip and stuff. Loads of them had traveled a decent bit too so it was cool to share stories and that.
My last night was Halloween, and I was lucky enough to be taken trick or treating for the first time, at the ripe old age of 18, by 2 genuine Americans in a genuine American neighbourhood. Result? 173 pieces of candy. Yep. And apparently that was a low figure as the neighbourhood isn't finished yet. Last years take was in the 300s. Ridiculous? Delicious! It was actually super fun walking around seeing everyone in their costumes, all the houses were like super decorated with pumpkins, lights, fake gravestones, inflatable skeletons, music, dry ice, the whole shebang! All the parents were like chillin out the front of their houses drinking beer and handing out lollies. It has a really cool vibe actually, maybe we should try and see if it will catch on at home. Upsetting for me, I couldn't physically take the gigantic piles of candy I had managed to stockpile, but Summer and Kylie were more than happy to take the rejects off my hands. I will probably not have to buy a chocolate bar until I return home, which I suppose from a budget perspective is pretty good.
So to sum up my trip to Phoenix I must say it was really enjoyable. Staying at the Vacala's house was awesome as it was like living with a family again. Also, the places I went and the people I met helped me shrug off the unfair stereotype of 'Americans' that is constantly perpetrated by overseas media and formulate my own opinions on the country and its people. Sure, there are those who can be ignorant or racist or whatever (just a quick note, I always knew Dave and Vicki were definitely not the stereotypical American Aussie media likes to scapegoat... just in case it sounded weird), but they are certainly not even close to being as widespread as the Australian and UK media would have you believe. Also, the country itself is not an urban wasteland, but home to some beautiful scenery and untouched ecosystems, that are quite hard to come by in modern times. What I mean by all this is, I urge any non-American, next time you have a go at the Seppos, try to avoid generalizing them or their country, as it is a pretty amazing place home to some really cool people.
Anyway, enough rambling. Photographs often tell the story better than words, so here are some of the shots I took whilst in Arizona.
Mum with the rather amusing cactus we found on South Mountain
Me in Fat Man's Gap, at South Mountain
Mum and I on our South Mountain hike
Mum and Vicki at South Moutain
Summer and Kylie, looking very grown up compared to last time
My Halloween pumpkin
Vicki, Mum and I trying not to get blown over whilst on the Pink Jeep ride in Sedona
Some of Sedona's beautiful erosional formations
The Pink Jeep
Us with the Pink Jeep
Ever wondered what a 50 000 year old meteorite crater looks like? That.
Mum and I at the Crater
The flattest, emptiest place I have ever seen a giant hole in the middle of.
Mum and Dave at the Morning Glory cafe having breakfast
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