Toronto Recap

I was only in Toronto for about a day and a half, so I didn't get to see everything, but I did try to fit in as much as I could in the time that I had. I got in town Friday (the 6th) in the evening and found my hostel pretty easily. The hostel had a whole slew of activities going on, so I went with them to a free indie concert at the Yonge-Dundas Square (a trendy public spot downtown that hosts a lot of free events). The next day, I went to the St. Lawrence Market and did a little souvenir shopping, and then I met up in the afternoon with a new friend that I met in Montreal who happened to be traveling to Toronto the same time I was there. We spent most of the day walking around downtown - we went to the Harbourfront Center (a touristy strip right along Lake Ontario), we went to Steam Whistle Brewery and almost went on a tour but the wait was going to be a couple hours. We walked to the University of Toronto campus (totally pretty), we walked through a trendy high-end part of town (Bloor-Yorkville), and then we were both pretty tired and very hungry, so we ended the day at Stout Irish Pub and had some amazingly tasty and expensive food. The following day I made my way to the Toronto airport early in the morning and flew to Vancouver. Overall thoughts on Toronto - fun, hip place, but it seemed to be lacking some of the charm that Montreal had. And now for the picture tour!

Yonge-Dundas Square

St. Lawrence Market

Futuristic looking trash can/recycle bin

CN Tower

Harbourfront Center

U of T

Montreal Recap

I have spent the last 3 days exploring all that the beautiful French city of Montreal has to offer. This has been my first solo adventure in a new city (besides my trips up to Chicago before I moved here), and it has been a rather exhilarating experience. Staying at a hostel was definitely a good idea - I met some great people and it was way cheaper than staying at a hotel.

Tuesday, July 3rd: Arrived in Montreal in the afternoon. Two of my roommates from NY invited me to go to dinner with them, so I did that and had the most amazing pizza ever. Thin crust, sauceless, lots of cheese = delish. After I got back from dinner, I discovered that the hostel was hosting a pub crawl around town, so I decided to go along. We went to 3 different bars in the Latin Quarter - the first was a smaller, quieter pub with a neat outdoor space, the second was a cool local microbrewery, and the third was a standard bar with the addition of swing music and a dance floor. Pretty cool. I chatted with a girl from the UK, a girl from Australia, a guy from Oak Park, two brothers from Pennsylvania... lots of out of my comfort zone but well worth it. We stayed out for a few hours and then I went to use the bathroom at the last bar and came back up to discover that my group had left. Uh oh. Luckily I was with one other guy who joined up with our group, so we tried to figure out how to get back, but it was raining and we really had no idea where we were, so I ended up taking a cab back to my hostel. Overall, a good night.

Wednesday, July 4th: I tried to see if there were any 4th of July things going on, but sadly I could not find any. So instead, I walked to Old Montreal, a super old and scenic area of Montreal by the water (Port Canal). I found a neat building with a bunch of boutique shops inside, and a free art gallery of aboriginal art. After a few hours of walking around solo, I went back to the hostel and hung out for a bit. That evening, I went with a couple of my other roommates (2 girls from Winnipeg) to the International Jazz Festival. The two of them had tickets to see Adam Cohen, so I just watched some of the free shows, which was still very awesome. There were SO many people there, and it was definitely a test on my eyes getting back, but I made it.

Thursday, July 5th: I got up early and tried to see my old Canadian neighbors who I used to babysit for, but I ended up missing the bus I needed to take by about 5 minutes and the next bus wasn't coming for another hour, which would have been too late. So I went back to the hostel, ate some breakfast with the Winnipeg girls (L and J) and then went on a shopping adventure on my own along Rue St. Catherine. This street reminded me quite a bit of Michigan Ave., although not quite as big. After shopping, I hiked up Mount Royal to get to a lookout point where you could see all of the city. There were SO many stairs, but the view was worth it. Afterwards, I went back to the hostel again and had planned to go to a free circus a couple train stops away from the hostel, so I went but then decided to head back home because I was super early and there was not a lot to do around the park where the circus was taking place. I was going to call it an early night at about 9:30, when J knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to see a movie with her and L. I thought about it, and decided that I should suck it up and go. We saw Take This Waltz, which I recommend. I didn't get home until 1 or so, but I'm most definitely glad I went. Doing things = better than not doing things.

Friday, July 6th: Met up with L and J for breakfast in the hostel. They ended up walking me to the train station and stayed with me until I got my ticket, then L bought us all these amazing chocolate almond croissants, then they left and now I am on the train heading from Montreal to Toronto!

I will be in Toronto just until Sunday, and then I will be off to Vancouver for a week. I decided to cut my trip short a couple days ago. I've realized that I am not so much of a solo traveler. I am trying to make the best of it and I am still having fun, but I'm learning that I would rather travel with people I care about. So yes, I am learning a lot about myself, and for that I am thankful.

Miss you all.

Old Montreal

More impressive buildings

Narrow streets were rather abundant in Old Montreal

Gotta love the cobblestone

Lots of people at the jazz festival

The walk up to Mont Royal

View from the top

Lots of people enjoying the view from the top

The gay district in Montreal has all of these pink balls strung across the buildings. I was a fan.

Ottawa Recap

Hello there! I am alive and well and currently in Montreal. I have spent the last week in Ottawa and had a blast. Here's a quick recap of my day-by-day so far:

Sunday, June 24: arrived in Ottawa in the evening.

Monday, June 25th: Arthur and I went downtown to the Rideau Center (a gigantic indoor mall) to do a little errand shopping. We had planned to walk around downtown a bit more, but it was cold and rainy and generally very unpleasant. We did, however, manage to go to an amazing Lebanese restaurant called Schawarma Palace on the walk back from downtown. Delish. Seriously delish. The rest of the day was mostly pretty quiet.

Tuesday, June 26th: Arthur and I went downtown to the Byward Market, a really cool outdoor/indoor market of sorts. They had tons of little shops and kiosks set up. This area was probably one of my favorites of Ottawa. We got some tasty tasty poutine (french fries with gravy and cheese curds... sooo good and terrible for you). We then explored Parliament Hill (super impressive looking) and then walked the streets of downtown. Downtown Ottawa is very clean and nice looking, I was quite a fan.

Wednesday, June 27th - Friday, June 29th: Went to Arthur's family's cottage about an hour outside of Ottawa. It was mostly lots of relaxing on the deck, laying out on the dock by the river, boating in the river, and a bit of yard work around the property. Lots of fun, all around a great couple of days. Friday night we went out with a couple of Arthur's friends to a Casino in Quebec for their buffet dinner. Again, tasty.

Saturday, June 30th: Went to the Museum of Canadian Civilization and learned a lot about Canadian history that I didn't know. Walked back through the market for an early dinner, then I went back home and went out with some of Arthur's friends for a 2nd dinner.

Sunday, July 1st: CANADA DAY!! Canadians are crazy on Canada Day, especially in Ottawa. Lots of red, white, and maple leaves. Canada Day for me was a decent amount of partying during the day, fireworks at night, and more partying afterwards. This was quite a long day, and I'm glad I had the chance to spend my first Canada Day in the nation's capital.

Monday, July 2nd: Last official day in Ottawa. Woke up late, made some pancakes, went to a coffee shop, had a lazy evening.

Tuesday, July 3rd: Took the Greyhound from Ottawa to Montreal. Arrived here fine and now I am typing this :)

Sorry for the lack of detail in this post, but here are some pictures to make up for it!

ByWard Market

Poutine in the ByWard Market

Canada!

Parliament Building(s)

Standing in front of a door at a Parliament Building

Walking across the Rideau Canal (awesome)

National Art Gallery

Museum of Canadian Civilization

Canada Day!

Very necessary

It's almost here!

My Canadian adventure begins tomorrow and I am SUPER excited. Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver - here I come! I will try to blog as often as I can, but I cannot guarantee I will have an internet connection all the time or that I will have the time or motivation to blog. But I will try my best! Be sure to comment on my posts if you want me to keep blogging. That will keep me going :)

Stay tuned for my next post, where I will (most likely) be writing from Ottawa, the nation's capital. Until then, I will be pack pack packing! Cheers!