The Unexpected

It's about that time for my monthly entry to this blog that I'm pretty sure most people don't look at anymore. Since I'm not really on a traveling adventure anymore, it doesn't seem like there is much to write about. This time, that is definitely untrue.

Let me start from the beginning somewhat, so the picture is fully painted by the time I actually show the main part. Vanessa my roommate/best friend was away in Bosnia for 3 weeks and came back two Thursdays ago. On that Saturday, our great friends whom we met in England were coming up from Buffalo, NY to spend the weekend. We hadn't seen them in 2.5 years, so this was a big weekend for us. Plus, we haven't had anybody stay in our apartment yet, so that added to the excitement of our friends visiting. Andy (one of my best friends here) and I have bonded recently because neither of us have jobs, we're the only two Americans here, and we hang out most of the time. We wanted him to meet our friends and I was so excited to go out that night with him, Vanessa, and our friends.

Andy had a bike race that day, and we decided to take our friends on a walk around the neighborhood in the afternoon. Around 4pm, I get a call (and I have to preface this by saying I NEVER answer my phone because I never hear it) and I answer it, and it's a strange girl calling me asking if one of my friends was in a bike race today. I said yes, Andy was in a race. She then proceeded to tell me Andy had had an accident, was unconscious and was being taken to the hospital. We raced to the hospital with absolutely no idea what to think. Andy suffered serious head trauma and a broken collarbone, and was in ICU for about 4 days and was then moved to a close watch room. That night I had to call his close friends here and his parents to tell them what happened. His parents drove through the night to arrive the next day. Since then, I've gotten to know his parents very well, it's been wonderful getting to know his parents and close friends, although we all wish it was under different circumstances.

It's been a week and a half since the accident, and Andy's finally going to be transported home to a hospital in Detroit. It's been extremely hard for all of us, and although part of me wishes he would stay here, I'm immensely happy for him and his family that he can finally start his therapy and go home where there is a bigger circle of support for both him and his family. Most of this past week and a half has been surreal, and there's been a constant cloud in my head, not being able to think of much else. Just hoping that he gets better and goes back to being himself rather than a groggy, dazed version of himself.

If this has taught me anything, it's that life is truly short and you never ever know what's going to happen. It's like there's your plan for life, and then another plan..and they don't always end up being the same. Andy made some of us drink a lot, and some of us cry a lot..but we've all come out stronger than we were before this. A lesson in knowing that friendships and family are what make a person, not money or materials...wow, I'm good at this sentimental stuff. Maybe I'll get a job writing greeting cards.

Be safe out there, and even if you assume those special people know..tell them you love them. EVERYDAY.

It's Chili outside..get a bowl!

Now entering the season of frickin freezing! Well, it's not too cold yet, according to native Loonies, I will have to start planning more than usual about what I wear. The one bad thing about this weather (who am I kidding, there are many bad things) is that it makes me want to stay indoors and not do much..which is easy because I STILL don't have a job. I'm waiting on certain options, a video store is one, but I'll admit I have trouble keeping my buckets of PMA (positive mental attitude) full. The PMA comes from my dad's side of the family who, when us cousins were younger and learning how to waterski, would yell from the boat.."you gotta have buckets of PMA!"

So in this slightly dreary weather, I've been trying to remember my aunts and uncles yelling it at me and keep my chin up. I went to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving (it's for reals) in early October with my friends Vanessa and Andy at Vanessa's family home. It was great to be around family when you lack family nearby, and we had tons of great food.

The only other thing of note that has happened in a month's time was on Monday I was in my first bike accident, and came out with only a couple bruises on my legs. I'm pretty good at biking around in the city now, but there are streetcars, and with streetcars come streetcar tracks on the roads. The tracks are indented in the road, and as long as you go at the perpendicular, you're fine. I've feared getting my tire stuck in a track, partly because my tires are skinny but also your fears change with different modes of transportation. Well I was on Queen St West which makes me nervous anyways because there's a lot more to pay attention to as a biker than most other streets. Basically I had to swerve out into the tracks to avoid a car backing up into the lane, and when I tried to go back, my tire got stuck and I fell over. But I fell on my hands so it wasn't too bad. Needless to say I won't be traveling on Queen St for a while.

Happy Halloween and keep on truckin!

New Directions

Yes I know this title is used in the TV Show Glee, but it's fitting so I'm using it. I took my trip home to California, and it was amazing. I hadn't seen my mom in 6 months!! The trip was a bit intense but also great in terms of finding out more about where I'd like to end up and where I consider "home" to be. When I touched down in San Francisco (I actually missed that feeling of almost flying into the bay when you fly into SFO) I got this rush of emotions like why did I leave? What am I doing in Toronto? So that was on my mind for a bit, letting those questions swirl around in my head.

The first part of my trip consisted of going home and spending time with my family..much needed time, and the second half consisted of hanging out with my brother in San Francisco. We went to a Beer Festival on an old WWII battleship in the harbor of San Francisco, this was our third year going and to be honest, I scheduled my trip around this festival and I feel no shame in it. It's always a great time with great beer and great people. Also, for the third time, we got to listen to our favorite U2 Tribute band, Zoo Station. We somehow have been blessed enough to have them play on the same day we've gone for 3 years. It was a crazy day that ended up with us getting separated from everyone else and going home with sunburns and watching the Back to the Future marathon on TV. I miss American TV.

During the last stretch with Trev, I downloaded a band called Mumford and Sons, and proceeded to have my mind constantly blown. Their music is the perfect driving/pondering music, and it definitely inspired me to go back to Toronto with a new outlook: to make this adventure be a learning, be rewarding, and most of all..to be open to outcome, not attached to it. If you're looking for new music, I definitely suggest their debut album, Sigh No More..they've become a bit mainstream with their single Little Lion Man being played on VH1, but I won't hold it against them. One of my favs is After the Storm, which actually was the song that inspired me to come back to Toronto with a new set of eyes.

With those new eyes I came back on Tuesday night, late. On Thursday morning I was greeted with my latest setback in Canada..being laid off from my job before my contract was up, due to lack of funds because it's a small, non-profit film festival. Now, I will not bad mouth former bosses/jobs on this blog, but I will say that I found out through a sympathetic email from a co-worker that morning, because APPARENTLY my boss had told everyone she talked to me about being laid off already.

So I finished out the week, and with a promise of festival passes and vouchers, I said goodbye to my co-workers, the Distillery District, and my new 12 mile bike ride to/from work that I was becoming fond of. I did realize though that I was surprisingly calm during this event, mainly due to my relaxed state from my trip and the new attitude I came back with, which included kicking Canada's butt. Well, Canada kicked my butt first, almost to the border, but I'm picking myself up and am updating my resume as we speak (well, I'm giving myself the weekend, then I'll update) and will get back on the familiar road of job searching. I'm one of those odd people who think things happen for a reason, and I know that you don't learn when life is easy, so I'm keeping my spirits up for whatever is gonna happen next on this journey in the land of loonies. Bring it on CANADA.

Take care of yourselves out there, and do something out of your comfort zone..it's the only way to learn.

Summer, is that you??

It's official folks! In the paper here the other day it stated that 2010 is officially the hottest summer in Toronto's history!!! I saw that and immediately thought..why am I here again?? So, needless to say it's been ridiculous basically everyday. There hasn't been a day since May when I actually NEEDED a sweater. There have been a couple times I wore one, just to remember how it felt, and I now can't sleep without my fan on my face. Interestingly enough, back at home I guess San Francisco hasn't really had a summer! It's been like the coldest summer in SF since like the 70s! Global Warming anyone? This stuff is super crazy, and scares me a tad bit that everything is so drastic, weather wise.

Exciting news though, is that I just got my own bike! I have one at home, but I clearly can't get it here. All my roomies have bikes and bike to work and everywhere else. I finally got to borrow my roomie's extra bike, and am now officially hooked. We have a great hill (that's only great on the way down) that leads downtown, and we went to the bars one night and all rode down and then rode back after. It was great because the wind kept you from getting too hot on the way back home. Yes, at 2am I was still sweating. So our handy roommate Andy..handy Andy..fixed up the extra bike and it's all mine!!! Thanks bunches Andy!

Also, even BIGGER news...I'm coming home for a week in September!!! I'm very very excited. I get to see the rest of my family after 6 months of being away! It'll be great to be in my comfort zone again. Being in a different place by myself for 5 months now has been very exciting and also isolating. I didn't have great friends or family to lean on, but it forced me to make friends that I know I will have for a while. As you may or may not know, I studied abroad for a year, about 2 years ago in England. That was an amazing experience and one that made me grow in many ways. Before I made this move to Toronto, I kept comparing that experience and saying, if I can do England I can do Canada. But the major difference was that in England I quickly gained a group of fellow exchange students that were going through the same thing, and so even though there were moments of feeling alone and missing family, I was with many people who were going through the same thing and they became my surrogate family. This trip was made totally solo, and my nearest great friend was about 5 hrs away by bus. I've learned a lot already, and can assume that I'll learn a lot more as the months pass. BUT, to get back on track, I miss my home..California, and cannot wait to be back!

Until that time (less than a month away) I am kickin butt and takin sponsorships at work! It's been a whirlwind, and I've learned a lot. I get to work during the film festival, and I know it's gonna be an amazing experience, one that I can't wait for! Come October I probably won't be able to write much, as festival preparations will take over most of my time, seeing as there are very few employees we will all be doing a lot to get it going.

Until next time,
Hugs not Drugs!

I forgot I had a blog...

It's been almost a month since my last post, and normally I'd call that super lazy. BUT, since I have a full-time job now, and have been gone the past 4 weekends, I'm gonna call it busy. Definitely a different kind of busy than just school or school and work.

My brother and dad visited 2 weeks ago, which was awesome and I've pretty much seen all of Toronto now. It was great to finally be around family, from constantly Skype-ing. If this move has taught me anything, it's definitely something along the lines of "absence makes the heart grow fonder," minus the romantic undertones of that saying. This photo is Trev and I on Toronto Island in front of the TO skyline.


I do miss California a lot, and a bit more every time someone finds out it's where I'm from, because they always ask, why did you move here?? I guess California is a somewhat exotic, foreign place to these landlocked, half-English, half-midwesterners. Just based on the crazy humidity (I'm told this is the warmest summer they have in recent years) and silly words they sometimes use, I would agree that California has a foreign feel. My brother did catch me saying "eh?" a couple times, but it doesn't feel natural so I think it was forced.

The weekend after SOME of my family visited (I'm talking to you, Mom) I went with some great new friends to a music festival in the Canadian countryside called the Hillside Music Festival. I had only heard of a couple of bands, but figured it was a great way to get out of the city and appreciate some Canadian music. Well, I was right. It was absolutely amazing, aside from the crazy ant bites Alia and I got from pitching our tent on an ant hill..we're guessing we did, because neither of the other tent inhabitants got our amount of bites. There were some big Canadian acts that were really interesting to watch because I swear I was THE only one who didn't know the words to any of the songs. The festival had a folksy, bluegrassy feel to it, and I discovered some great new artists to add to my music collection. Just being back in nature was great, seeing as it's been mainly city and pavement for a good 4 months. I've met many people who either like the country OR the city. They are meant to be in one, and don't care too much for the other. I think that's something from my childhood that I really treasure, since I grew up in the mountains, I consider that home, but the city still holds an intriguing mystery about it. This is a photo of the evening sky out in the countryside at the festival:



The next weekend I went to the Osheaga Festival in Montreal, Quebec with my friends Helena and Peps. We were supposed to have a 4th person but that fell through, so it was the 3 of us, and we had a blast! We saw some great acts including the Gaslight Anthem and The Black Keys, who are my new favorite band. The only thing I will say about Osheaga is the amount of smoking that went on was RIDICULOUS. I swear, anyone who smoked smoked at least 3 cigarettes during the course of the day at the festival. I have many friends who smoke, but there are unspoken rules about smoking. Like being courteous since obviously many people don't smoke and don't want to smell like it. Not to mention that second hand smoke has been proven to be harmful in its own right. When you're in a tight group of people and the only place to let out smoke is directly on the back of someone's head, or right in their face, it's courteous to wait and smoke in a more open area. Anyway, that's my rant for this post.

This weekend I was east again, this time to Ottawa to again see Helena and Peps, but also VANESSA. Who, if you didn't know, has been in Bosnia all summer long. So this is a great reunion for the 3 of us who haven't all been together since they visited me in San Fran almost 2 years ago!! That being said, I've logged in some major bus rides recently which has given me a lot of time to think about things…mainly personal things that I hadn't been able to get over until now. It's a liberating feeling when you finally realize you're over something and can let it go and stop agonizing over it anymore. This is how I feel now. On a side note, these bus rides made me pay more attention to song lyrics, and I've realized how certain songs come on that you can relate to. It's weird, but also reassuring in a way.

Everything's Coming up Martens!

I bet the insane amount of people that read this have been really anxious to hear about my new J-O-B. We finalized details on Monday, and I went to work full-time on Tuesday! So it's been a solid week of working like a real grown-up! This is huge because it's not just my first legitimate full-time job, but it's also my first out of college job. This job as of now is contract so I'll work until October, and will hopefully find something else afterward. So I'm the Sponsorship and Promotions Coordinator of the Planet in Focus: International Environmental Film Festival.

I am finding sponsors for the festival, some that need to renew their contracts and some new. It's all about generating funding for the festival since it's a non-profit and pretty small for it's large title. There are only 4 permanent people that work for the organization, all the rest are contract or interns. It's a niche in festivals or film that I haven't done before, so it's exciting to learn new things. My boss is the exec director, and we're going to a meeting with Discovery Channel in 2 weeks!! To me that's like meeting celebrities...getting to meet people that work for Discovery. Granted it's Discovery Canada, but still.

The title of this post refers to what my great friend Helena said when I told her I got the job. Also, on Thursday I got a call from TIFF, the Toronto International Film Festival, arguably the biggest film festival in Canada and one of the biggest in the world! I have applied to many jobs there, and this job I applied to more than a month ago. The guy wanted to do a phone interview, which was during work, and then they were hoping to get people in on Monday. It was so sudden I was thinking about this job versus that one, pros and cons. The TIFF job would start immediately, which wouldn't allow for any kind of notice to my job now. I will see on Monday if I get a call, and then I'll have to decide.

BUT...bigger news is that I'm getting some great visitors in 4 days!! My Dad and brother are coming to visit me up in the big north!! I couldn't be more excited, and nothing could brighten up my spirits more than finally getting to see some family after 3 months!! It's gonna be great to spend time with family and show people around my new city of residence. Lastly, the past 3 days were so intense with the heat! We went through a brutal heat wave..I could barely sleep, we were sweating just sitting around! It was really rough..I was complaining a lot. Yep, I'm kind of a sissy.

Cana-duh Day!

Hello folks, this week has turned out to be pretty awesome for many reasons. I've been on some good runs in this great little forest-y pathway by my house, runs do wonders to clear the mind I have to say! Also, my house FINALLY got a soccer ball so we got to play at the neighborhood school a block away.

THEN, Canada Day (basically Canada's 4th of July) was on Thursday, so my roommate Alia, our friends Dan and Warren, and I went road tripping to Cleveland, OH to see the Toronto Blue Jays play the Cleveland Indians. Even though we left at 6am, the Border was packed and it took 2 hours to get across, making the total driving time more like 7 hours rather than the 4.5 hours it should have been! By the time we got there, it was the 7th inning and so we went to a bar across the street and waited for the game to end. Total time spent in Cleveland was about 2 hours. We got back on the road, much faster going back, and stopped at a liquor store I had scoped out to get some good 'ol California beer that I've been missing. After that, stopping at the border of course I got questioned. I didn't know what to say, so when she said what are you doing here I said, "Um..just hanging out," to which she said, "Um..nobody just hangs out in Canada for 2 months." That's when I told her I had an unpaid internship and blah blah. Needless to say my quote lived on in the car for some time.

But, the joke is on the border officer now because I was offered a position at my internship on Friday to basically be the Executive Director's right-hand man, dealing with sponsorship and marketing. She said it would be full-time until October when the festival is!!! This is HUGE news, which will be even BIGGER on Monday when we meet to finalize things. All I'd like to say is Booyah Canada!! I conquered your "Canadians only" policy..so there!!

And lastly, today we are having a BBQ to celebrate Canada weekend, and the weather is amazing!! We have all the fixins for a wonderful night of eating, drinking and conversing about Canadian stuff. Actually, we have a new roommate renting the basement studio who is apparently American too and just moved here 2 weeks ago! So at least I'll have someone there to celebrate 4th of July with who appreciates it. Oh, and I took pictures of the Farmer's Market today, check it!

Farm Party

The weekend unfortunately started off with USA losing their match against Ghana, and being in a pub with a good amount of Canadians rooting for Ghana seemed a bit fishy to me, but I won't dwell on the odd circumstances. That's not to say Ghana wouldn't have Canadian supporters, but it looked as though people were supporting whoever played against the U.S. That and a girl on the streetcar saying USA didn't deserve to be there...a bit of button pushing but I just smiled at her arrogance.

I was invited to a Solstice Party by a couple friends which was up in the farmland of Guelph which is an hour outside of Toronto. So we carpooled out there into the Canadian farmland which closely resembles the Midwest. I went to a farm party with cousins in Missouri once, and this looked pretty identical to that, except the corn stalks were higher in Missouri. So the gracious hosts of this party, Jodie and her friend Megan, provided food and booze (a keg of PBR and bottomless sangria!). How could this not be great?? They also had the best invention in recent times. Red plastic cups, with a scratch pad for your name!! No more sharpies and writing your name on tons of cups! Although I'll sadly admit that I lost my cup anyway.

The farm was really beautiful, and they had a great outside area with a fire pit and lights strung everywhere. The only downside was the farm is apparently a hot bed for mosquitoes, so even though there were a million cans of bug spray, I still got bit pretty badly. My friend Warren even said that mosquitoes like blondes and redheads the most, of which I am neither.

The end to the weekend consisted then of a crazy thunderstorm last night, Sunday, and I was a tad scared. Everyone who lives here or in the Midwest is used to it so they go hang out on the porch and soak it up, but for those of us not from a big thunderstorm area, it's still bit scary every time.

I'll leave you with a couple photos of the farm party, and avoid saying anything about the G20, because I don't have much to say about it.

The sun was bright red!!

Dund-asssssss

Needless to say it has been an interesting week. It felt like two weeks packed into one week, which I won't elaborate on. The USA's game against Slovenia was pretty crazy, the ref was ridiculous and kept making calls nobody understood. I was yelling in my room. And England's match a couple hours later was just sad. The English announcer called it a poor, poor match at the end.

My roommate has been keeping me entertained for the last couple of days, doing lots of stuff. On Thursday we went to a free concert in Toronto's equivalent to Times Square, which is called Dundas Square..pronounced Dund-ass. It was this old punk group called X and was a pretty good show, outside with lots of people. The next day was filled with World Cup games and then out and about to a new friend's place to hang out. I've met a lot of new people in the last 3 days, I decided get out there and make more friends and do things. I mean I was doing things, but not a lot, and now I really have to explore this city. I also had my first street dog last night! Toronto has so many hot dog carts, and they have regular and veggie, and sometimes chicken ones. The cart is packed with condiments, things you wouldn't think to put on hot dogs. Hot peppers, green olives, hot mustard and honey mustard...and other things I can't remember. For $2.50 it's a cheap dinner that fills you up. And today was the Farmer's Market, but it looked like rain, and with ridiculous humidity! I was unimpressed with the humidity today, not cool Canada, not cool.

Lastly, I was just reminded that I'm going to be moving in with Vanessa come late August, so that made me extremely excited!! It's gonna be the coolest place ever. With great baked goods and awesome hang outs, it's gonna be a great year living with her. I know this post is all over the place, but my mind and my writing are off this week, my apologies.

It's a DRAW!!

As you must already know, the USA vs. England World Cup match ended in a DRAW!!! Much to the dismay of Paul, Peps, and almost everyone in the pub where I watched it. The game drove me to drink, and I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole time. I didn't lose 10 bucks though so that's nice. Putting money on the game made me interested in our team and all of the stats and players. Now, I know a lot more and am following the World Cup closely. I won't bore you with all that I read this morning about Group C (USA's group) and how much USA need to beat Slovenia by to advance. It's gonna be close since the USA/England game was a draw, and Slovenia beat Algeria, something neither of the former teams were hoping for. Anyways, this will be an exciting month of games, especially the Brazil vs. North Korea match, considering Brazil is ranked 1st in the world and N. Korea is 105th!

Being back in Ottawa is strange because the last time I was here we were trudging through snow and slush and the canal was ice. Now, the canal is gorgeous, the trees are green and it's very warm! Walking around I remember how much I like this country's capital, for it's proximity and generally smaller feel. Granted Toronto is accessible with its transit system, but you travel around and could easily never see anyone you know. But with Ottawa, you walk around and could easily run into your own roommate. Helena leaves for England in early September, so this was a chance to spend a couple days with her, and I must say it's nice to be around a great friend again. Her and Peps visited Toronto for a couple days like 3 weeks ago, but for the most part, my BFFs are all spread out right now. Being in San Diego, Bosnia, Ottawa, San Francisco, and my bro in San Mateo. And as I told Vanessa, just count your blessings for Skype, as I would probably be lost without it.

I leave tonight on the train and get back in TO at 11pm, but I figured I'd spend as much time with Helena as I could. Ok, enough with this chatter, I'm gonna quit writing and go hang with her!!

Nanaimo

This is pronounced Nan-I-mo, for those of you none Canadians reading this. Among other things like having Thanksgiving in October (why??), Canadians also have their own desserts unheard of in the rest of North America. One such dessert is the Nanaimo Bar:



I FINALLY went to my neighborhood's weekly Farmer's Market at this great place called the Wychwood Barns:



I've heard about this Market from many a people, and my roomie Alia and I thought today would be the day to go! Even though the sky looked a bit cloudy, as soon as we got there we were regretting not bringing our sunglasses as we took off our sweaters. The Market is year-round, so in the winter, they take over the inside of the Barns. Today, all of the stands were set up outside, with a band playing and kids running around. As most of you know, I get extremely excited about food, so walking up to this Market I was hiding my intense happiness at walking around the booths.

Now, Canada is not that different from 'The States,' as I've learned to call it. BUT, there are small differences that jump out at me that I find really interesting. One is the difference in Farmer's Markets. Actually, since my Farmer's Market experience is mainly within California, I will specify that there are differences between Canadian and Californian Farmer's Markets. Later on in the summer, there will be less differences, but right now, these Farmer's Market's have a big emphasis on baked goods and bread products. Usually in California, the Farmer's Markets mostly have produce. All kinds and endless amounts. There wasn't much produce just yet, but there were many booths with breads, muffins, and cinnamon rolls! This leads me to the Nanaimo Bars.

We passed by a booth and were looking at the delish goods and my roomie Alia said something about these chocolate things with a strange name. I had her repeat it a couple of times, and then she asked if I'd ever had one. Obviously not because I'm not from here. So she said she'd buy one, and the lady asked if we wanted to try some. Alia said "oh I was just going to buy one because she's never had one." The lady looked at me as if this couldn't be possible, and Alia answered her stare by saying, "yeah, she's American." All of the surrounding people turned and looked as if they'd never seen an American before, and watched me while I tried the bar. One woman standing next to Alia asked her if I'd tried a Butter Tart before, another Canadian staple. I don't know why she didn't just ask me, but maybe she felt more comfortable talking to a Canadian. The bar is delicious, as you could probably tell from the picture above, very rich and chocolate-y.

I only brought 10 bucks with me, which was just as well because I would have bought many things, none of which would have been fruits or veggies. I did buy a small basket of apples, so I'm proud of that. The only strawberries were going for 6 bucks for a small basket!! I was like, these better be half dipped in gold because that's a rip. But it should also be noted that most, if not all, of the strawberries in stores here are from good ol' California, so obviously I'm not used to paying a lot for strawbs. It will get better in the weeks to come, and I will probably write more about it, since my love of food overtakes most things.

My next post will be about the World Cup, and the much anticipated first game between England and the US which I will watch in Ottawa with my great friends Helena and Peps. I have 10 bucks riding on this game with the same Brit who said I may not be hearing from him for a while if England loses. We shall see Paul, we shall see.

Open Bar and Adrien Brody

What do those two things have in common you ask? Well, as of Wednesday night, they had ME in common. My great roommate Alia won free passes to the Toronto premiere of Splice, the new movie with Adrien Brody. Around this time is when you should watch the Splice trailer, so you know what I'm referring to when I mention the film. I am not one to watch Horror films..of any kind. So, when I watched the trailer and found out that these scientists make a new species out of human and animal DNA, I was pretty scared. But, Alia said there was supposed to be a free cocktail reception afterward, and since my alcohol funds are on the fritz I figured I would suck it up and go. I have had flashbacks ever since. I think I yelled "Oh my god!" a couple of times in the movie, and Alia looked at me and was like calm down. I think I also had some nightmares. I did see Adrien Brody on stage before the movie, but obviously didn't think to get my camera out until he was walking away.

The theater we were in was the Elgin Winter Garden Theater, an old restored theater that is absolutely gorgeous. As I was trying to take pictures of the inside, I accidentally kept the flash on once and blinded everyone around me. Also, there was a woman in front of us that had both her thumbs bandaged up. This actually perplexed me more than the sci-fi ridiculousness that was the movie. I was trying to guess what happened to her, and Alia's friend thought she cut one thumb with a knife, and then switched hands, and accidentally cut the other thumb. In an effort to have him hear me two people away, I spoke up to say, "but wait, you think she'd cut her thumb and then just switch hands and continue chopping veggies?" Alia hit me on the arm and covered her face, reminding me that the woman was literally sitting in FRONT of me. Oops..story of my life. I don't think she heard me though.

On to the reception. We weren't sure whether there was going to be a reception, and then sort of got ushered into it. Found out it was open bar and the waiters had mini appetizers they were coming around with. Everything from chicken salad in a cone to brownies with almonds on top. I have NEVER been to an open bar. I was asking people, and most have been to a wedding with an open bar so they weren't excited. The only wedding I've been to I was underage, so none for me then. I was so excited it was like a kid in a candy store. I should also mention that when I worked at a new science museum for over a year in San Francisco, we had night events ALL the time with caterers and open bars...always watched, never partook. I actually considered this to be a check off on my bucket list. Needless to say Alia and I were pretty giggly by the time we left, having only had mini appetizers as sustenance. I will leave you with a couple pictures of the inside of the theater. It looks like an opera house, with those side booths where Abraham Lincoln got shot...or at least that's what I thought of when I saw them. And there are fake ferns hanging from the whole ceiling, not sure if you'll be able to tell. Enjoy!

J-O-B

You may or may not remember that I started an UNPAID internship at this Environmental Film Festival. Well two weeks ago I was informed that I might be able to get paid for my work if the organization could get grants. On Thursday, I was then informed that the grants they got require the employees paid by those grants to be CANADIAN CITIZENS. Perfect. Oh and I actually overheard, so they may not have told me for a while. That was a nice little slap in the face from Canada. Like, silly American, don't think it'll be that easy to get a job here and make money and LIVE. I told Paul I wouldn't make this another rant, so that's as much as I will talk about that situation. We'll see how it pans out.

I have been looking around for just a regular part-time job, not too successful, but I must also admit that I'm being slightly picky in that I don't want to sit in a small store by myself all summer, hating life. Also, I want to work during the weekdays, and not the weekends, because all of my friends and the boyfriend have weekends off, and plans I'm making are on the weekends..not too much to ask right? Again, we'll see. Oh funny tid bit, last Saturday marks a MONTH that I've been up in the great big north...so 5 weeks as of now. Crazy how time flies with this big adventure.

Finally got a fan, just in time for really warm weather, it's supposed to be mid-80s this week, which, if you add on the humidity, will be like mid-90s. This weekend is Victoria weekend, Monday is Victoria day, a holiday, and all night there have been fireworks at the elementary school right near my house..I can't see anything though..bummer! Side note: I was watching the Grey's Anatomy finale, and a shooter comes into the hospital shooting tons of people (I know, it was ridiculously scary, and I wasn't sure why I kept watching it) and those fireworks going off were scaring me so much while I was watching that show!! What are the odds. Also, my graduation ceremony was this weekend, I did not attend as the flight would've been too much money for me, but I wish Jazzy and my other friends who graduated all the best and I was thinking of you on Saturday!!

That's all for now from TO!

Midwest

As some of you may or may not know, Toronto is located north of New York, right on the edge of Lake Ontario..one of the Great Lakes. Because of this, the weather resembles that of the Midwest/East Coast. Being that my dad is from Iowa, I am very familiar with the humid Midwest, but did not think Toronto would be similar. Wednesday, Toronto was the epitome of those good old Midwest summers. It was warm and a bit humid with thunderstorms in the evening. I am being told to brace myself for the humidity which will come in the summer, and I have to get a fan for my room! But, it was still warm during the thunderstorm, so the roomies and I were sitting on the front porch (which EVERY house has) just watching the rain and listening to the thunder. This is also the same time that I heard which natural disaster to watch out for here: Tornadoes. Now I'm told that last summer was a fluke and that the "small" tornadoes in Toronto were extremely rare, but I'm going to brace myself nonetheless because the world has been full of rare weather these past couple of years.

Hopefully before the intense heat comes I can get my screen fixed, which has a cat-sized hole in it because...cats go on our roof and can potentially come into my room through that hole. I actually saw a cat right outside my window the other day as I'm on the 2nd floor, except this cat is not the cat that resides in our house. The black cat in our house goes by the name of Sketchy..he is sketchy too..if I leave my door open, he'll sneak in right as I step out the door, and I'll turn around a second later and he's on my window sill hoping to go on the roof. No, the cat that I saw was a tabby colored cat, not sure where it came from..but there's no way I'm letting it through that perfectly sized hole in my screen. So for now, I only prop one of my windows open with an empty cider can..a REALLY good cider by the way, Rekorderlig. It's Swedish, my friend Helena introduced me to it, and they don't have it in the States. And no, I don't drink in my room, or alone. That was from when Vanessa visited and we drank in my room, and I needed something to prop my window open and it works.

Updates are as follows: I've been passing out resumes, trying to see if I can't actually get a job and live, but for now I work twice a week at my internship...for free I might add. I had a revelation the other day, my life feels as though I'm retired. I try to find things to occupy my days, and I'm even volunteering (interning) to keep me sharp. Soon though, there will be Farmer's Markets and festivals that I can walk around in and HOPEFULLY, something to pay my rent..or someone? Just kidding, I'm too young for a sugar daddy...but let me leave you with this question of the day:

Is there an appropriate age at which it is ok to have a sugar daddy/momma?

Think about it, maybe get back to me if you have a good answer, and hopefully the stigma against the "sugar daddy" idea will vanish.

That's all for now from the T-bag (Toronto)!!

*These are a couple pics of the Distillery District where my internship is, it's all restored warehouses and looks so cool!

BJD

If you're wondering what BJD stands for, look on my friend Warren's biceps, as I was told he has those initials tattooed on both arms. Bridget Jones' Diary. What can this post possibly be aboooot?? Well on Saturday, my friend Kristen and I went to this Green Living Show, an expo where tons of companies have booths selling green, eco-friendly products. I had a free pass from my internship, and she had to recycle a cell phone to get in free..pretty good deal. Actually, the website gave a list of electronics that you could recycle to get in free, and I figured that most people would bring small electronics to carry on public transit. We walked outside, and there were huge bins with dozens of computers and TVs sticking out that people apparently lugged to this show. Hardly anything is free nowadays, so these people scrambled to take advantage I guess. BUT, we went there partly to see......wait for it.....COLIN FIRTH. I know, amazing right??? How jealous are you all right now! Well he was great. He was receiving an award, and there was a speech and then questions afterward. He not only is hilarious, but he also is very smart and practical. The perfect British man. Which leads splendidly to the next topic: the British man in my life, Paul! Who, by the way, disagreed with me when I said that Colin Firth was the perfect British man.

I wasn't sure what my next post would be, until I was talking with my great friend Vanessa and she was saying how my posts always have this elephant in the room because I never mention Paul, and yet he is a part of my Canadian life. (Side note: She didn't mean to say Paul was big like an elephant, which my g-ma so nicely asked when I first mentioned him back home. I think her words were, "hopefully he's not critically obese or anything"). Anyways, he was about a quarter of the reason I moved up to the big north. We met on the last leg of my Canadian trip, he was my great friend Helena's roommate. She actually told me she thought I would like one of her roommates before I came, but I was pretty indifferent not really caring about meeting guys. So, ice skating at 2am on the Rideau canal the first night we met sort of set the bar. I never considered doing long distance, but after meeting him, I changed my tune. We talked about every night for the 2 months since I last saw him (thanks family for putting up with that!). AND, come tomorrow, he will be visiting me for a couple of days in Toronto on his way back home from school!!! He lives 3-4 hrs away from Toronto, but we're aiming for the weekends to see each other. Needless to say, it's been a whirlwind. I saw him for 2 and a half weeks, left to California for a month and a half, and then moved to Toronto. So, I hope Vanessa's happy, although she'll tell me I left out a lot, and I'm pretty happy too. That's the part of my story that was left out, and now you know. Hope it wasn't too mushy or romantic, but if it was, DEAL WITH IT.

Spring!

Toronto wasted no time in its transition to Spring while I was gone. I live in a really cute residential area, and walk by a park and amazingly green trees every time. Even if it's not that warm out, just having the sun out and the trees green makes such a difference in my disposition. I can't help but smile! So this post is vastly different from the rant I did on my last post, but that's the beauty of this, there's variation. You would get annoyed if I was constantly cheery, or get fed up if I was constantly ranting. You know it, and I know it.

I had my first day of internship on Tuesday, and although I was a little saddened by the fact that my duties might be EXACTLY the same as my last UNPAID internship...I will keep doing it and see if something great can't come out of it. Plus, the lesbian women that run it are very nice, and there's a lot of leeway when it comes to days and hours worked. I mean, I'm doing free labor so there should be, right?

Tonight I'm going out for the second time since I got here, with my fried Kristen and in order to get alcohol, I have to make it to the store before 9pm when it closes!! An early start, but that's how Torontonians roll I guess. I will leave you with some nice pictures of my new neighborhood...enjoy!!

Torontonian

According to random fliers across the city, Torontonian is the correct name for the inhabitants of Toronto. I arrived on Wednesday and have honestly not had time to write since then. I thought I could get a bank account, cell phone, and an Ontario driver's license all on Thursday. The joke was on me. The Ontario driver's license was first on the list, and although the website had said it's reciprocal with my California one, I didn't realize that I'd have to give up mine up. Now, maybe I was being a bit of a baby, but I was a little irked that I couldn't keep both, as I consider my driver's license to be my piece of identity. Yes, I have a passport, but that just says I'm American, a blanket which covers more than 300,000,000 people according to the U.S. Census Bureau. BUT, my California ID puts me under a bit smaller blanket, about 30,000,000 people. And I consider that to be an extra special blanket which has amazing redwood forests in the north, and a large portion of stuck up, fake people in the south. With the exception of people I've met from San Diego (Jaz, this includes you and your family, don't worry..haha). A blanket that has enough business and grows enough agriculture to potentially sustain themselves as a separate country...I'm just saying. A blanket that may legalize marijuana and help clean up the insane deficit that our actor/governor has racked up, as well as the intense violence in Mexico from drug cartels.

Anyways, so when the lady told me they'd take my ID away and I couldn't get it back (I asked), I was kind of floored. She told me when I go back and "visit" (you mean when I go HOME, crazy lady) I'd just use my Ontario license. And she was even nice enough to give me an example! She said it's like when they (Canadians) go down to Florida, they just use their driver's license to get around. Her first obvious mistake was telling me that I'd go to "visit," like it'd just be a nice vacation in a warm place. Kind of a slap in the face that it's not my home, but now a place to just visit. Second mistake was comparing CALIFORNIA to Florida!! I'm sorry if anyone reading this has a soft spot for Florida...but come ON. Really? I must admit I've never been to Florida, so this is biased. But, I just don't see how alligator infested pools and crazy humidity could beat out California. This is a one-sided argument so I'll stop. BUT SERIOUSLY. You may be wondering, why then did I leave California if I love it so much? They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I'm an adventurer at heart. So I dabble in another country for a while, and when I go back to "visit," it'll be that much sweeter.

I ended up getting a bank account, could've been a bit more prepared with some cash, but I know that now. In Canada, most banks charge a monthly fee if you can't keep a minimum of about $2,000 in your account, and they also give you a monthly transaction limit. I was asked how many transactions I do in a month, and had no idea. Maybe I just got lucky with Wells Fargo, but I never had to pay attention to any of that. I did end up finding a bank that waives the fee for recent graduates, Bank of Montreal! Today, I go tackle the insane world of cell phones. There are too many companies and too many options..I'm sorry capitalism, this is a little much. I'm not saying I would like to pay more, but I think only two companies could still compete and have cheap plans. Plus the fine print on these phone company brochures is ridiculous. Small numbers tacked on the end of every sentence, hints at all different exceptions and time limits that you don't see until the back page, where a huge paragraph of small, light typing explains you are basically getting screwed and there is no such thing as a deal. At least every company has that though. Heaven forbid you find one that empathizes with the crap economy and a person's desire to keep in touch with loved ones. I was going to write "a person's need to keep in touch" but with the cost of a phone call nowadays, it can't really be a necessity, as feeding yourself still takes precedence.

I hope this post doesn't sound like one big whiny complaint, merely a witty take on grown-up responsibilities. OH, good news...I am now an intern at Planet in Focus. An unpaid intern, because in the Film world they know students are hard up for experience and will do free labor with a strained smile.

That's all for now, folks..stay tuned!!

The Final Countdown

As the day to leave this good old Yankee land swiftly approaches, I find myself excited for the many things ahead! There are 4 days left...and much of those will be spent with family. Partly because that's what you do before a big trip, but also because my G-ma and I's birthday is on SUNDAY. I haven't really thought about it much, except when asked what I want for my birthday...to which I reply: a job in Toronto? I guess I'm surprisingly calm about this big move. Everyone keeps saying it's a HUGE deal and aren't you scared and anxious?? The answer is no, and let me tell you why. Recently, when I was talking with my petit ami Paul, he asked that same sort of question. I remembered that when I was getting ready to go to England for the year abroad, there were big problems (like possibly missing my flight because I didn't have my student visa yet) but things worked out, so I now feel that I can handle almost anything. That and I've had a pretty non-stressful couple of months, so I think I'm just in the groove of not worrying about much.

Change of topic now, guess what email I just got from Air Canada??? A deal on their flights from California, up to 50% off!! So that deal I was waiting for...there it is. Too bad I didn't want to wait until 4 days before I leave to get a ticket. REALLY unimpressed with AC right now. BUT, on the flip side, I just read a press release from Virgin America saying they will start flights from SFO to Toronto in JUNE!!!!!!! How amazing is that. I wrote that it's as if Richard Branson (the owner of Virgin) saw my blog and was like, let's help this lady out. Thank you Mr. Branson. I'll be forever grateful if your service kicks AC's butt. I flew your planes to England and to New York and they were wonderful. Don't let me down.

Well, the bday celebrations start later today when my bro comes up and we party down! On Sunday my G-ma picks the hike she wants to do (yes, she LOVES to hike and is only turning the small 8-0) and then we have a Mexican lunch with family!(in honor of me because I complained that Canada didn't have good Mexican food). Did I mention my Great Aunt still does Triathlons too? I guess I have good genes.

Sky Rockets in Flight

The only relation the title has to the actual post is the flight part because...I booked my flight!! Yes, I know, I only have two weeks. I think I was just waiting for a sweet deal that never showed up. Finally I succumbed to Air Canada that is actually 30 bucks more than my first one-way through AC. And I signed up for Air Canada's mileage program, Aeroplan, and yet when I booked the flight, it still said I didn't have any miles. I think the "earning miles" idea never really benefits you unless you buy two flights, five nights at a hotel, and a seven-day cruise at the end of it. I initially signed up for Expedia's mileage program, aptly named the "Thank You Network." The brilliant idea behind this program is that it only works if you book something extra with your flight, or go shopping around on the Expedia site for things you don't need. So just a regular flight (no matter if it costs $5,000 and flies around the world twice) does not count towards earning points. And if you earn 10,000 points, you get a $200 flight! So, the only way you could really benefit from these programs is if you have to travel a lot for business. Like my brother Trevor, who flies to Los Angeles a lot for business, and after so many roundtrips per year, gets a complimentary one by Southwest. That is a pretty sweet deal. But not everyone can be a rocket scientist...and by that I mean a mechanical engineer.

In other news, I have finally found a place to stay in Toronto!! Such a big weight lifted off my shoulders. Unfortunately it will not be with the German chemist named Engelbert, but come to find out, there were some restrictions on that place that I might not be able to handle for 4-5 months. The older woman told my friend Vanessa "no elaborate meals in the kitchen"...what constitutes an elaborate meal? Thanksgiving dinner or dressed up mac & cheese? Also, me coming in late at night would "disrupt her schedule..but once a week is ok," and lastly, Vanessa said she's a bit too motherly. Never fear though, I found another place. AND, this seems waaaaay more suited for me than living with middle-aged people. It's a four bedroom house, so I have three roommates MY AGE..with a washer/dryer and everything. A sun room, a front room with....a record player!! And a piano, but I'm more excited about the record player because that means my dad can send me some of my records. The house also has a back deck and BBQ, and a garden. This has the potential to be a great summer!!

Looking at the title of this post makes me want to watch Anchorman...Afternoon Delight!

Til next time, dedicated followers!

Roommates?

I have lived with a good assortment of people. Some crazy, some young, some messy, some fun! BUT, I've never lived with an "older" person..and by older I mean my parents age. On the search for a summer sublet in Toronto, I enlisted my wonderful friend Vanessa to help by looking at places for me. You know you have a good friend when they're willing to look at a place and meet your potential roomies for you.

Vanessa went today to look at a place, in a great area called The Annex, which she said is so central I would've have to take cabs back from the bars. Not sure which bars exactly, but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. Now, it's a three story house, and I would be sharing the bathroom and kitchen with an older woman named Micky. She seems nice, and Vanessa said she sounded super cute on the phone. The third floor is rented out by a German post-doc, a chemist who spends most of his time in the lab studying co2 emissions. His name is......wait for it......Engelbert!! Hahaha...I get a good chuckle every time I say it. I wouldn't see him since he has his own apartment basically. I haven't heard back from Vanessa but am keeping fingers crossed. It would be brilliant if this place worked out ahead of time and I didn't have to worry. But, would it work to live with a mom-like figure when I want to have a friend stay? We shall see.....

Also, I have an interview for an internship with Planet in Focus when I get there. PIF is an environmental organization that puts on the International Environmental Film & Video Festival. Perfect for someone who has been looking at jobs with Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel these past couple of months.

Many more exciting things taking place..stay tuned!!

Searching and searching...

When doing research to move temporarily to another city, one must find a place to stay and may like to find out what this new city has to offer. It's a bit different when going to another COUNTRY. I'm searching on Craigslist Toronto..yes, there are craigslists for many countries...for sublets in the summer because I will probably live with a friend come August. Most of them request a female, or a young student or professional because most people looking to rent out rooms seem to be under those categories. The last one I looked at however, had a reasonable price and location, then said, "share a non-smoking apartment with"...wait for it...a "47 year old Canadian man." I'm sorry, I don't care how cute and tame Canadians are, this young female professional is not living with a random middle-aged man..no matter what nationality.

I would also like to share a couple of sentiments I found on websites for immigrants coming to Canada. One website..a non-governmental one I might add...said something along the lines of, "if you think you can just easily move to a new country and start a new life, think again." That one made me laugh because it was plain unbelievable. But another one also said, "congrats on having the strength and courage to move to a new country and start your life." That sounds more like the Canadians I know and love!! Either way, this will be an interesting and exciting journey..thank god for blogs so you all have a way to live vicariously through me.

New Developments!!

Hello all you gracious followers! It has been almost a month, but seems longer since I left the land of Loonies. You are probably wondering what this post could be about, considering that the idea of the blog was for my trip to Canada. And, I originally thought as I wrote the entry below that it would probably be my last, and my last visit to Canada for some time. BUT, as I laid around at my parents house, searching the world wide web for any signs of a job, I ended up applying to a few in Toronto! As time went on and I spoke to my lovely friends in Canada about my prospects (or lack thereof) I realized..I might as well consider Toronto as a viable option for a relocation. Just to make you aware as your jaw is open from that last statement, I was planning on moving somewhere around the East Coast, as the companies I want to work for are located there. And I'm choosing Toronto because it has more opportunities in Film/TV..but (for the record) I loved Ottawa and will visit you Helena, when I can!

So, to make a short story longer...I have decided to move to Toronto. Take a moment to mull that over (as my great friend Jaz recently told me). Yes, it's happening. I plan on leaving either the 13th or 14th of April, just after my birthday. I have done copious amounts of research on what it takes to live and work there, and I am happy to say, I am prepared. My family supports it, with my Mom telling me to "go for it!" and my g-ma staying silent as she doesn't like it when I leave the country. I have applied to jobs and will keep applying, but if I do not have something by the time I want to leave...I'm just going to go anyway. I figure if I can hack a year in England, I can handle Canada.

I recently told a new Canadian/British friend of mine that Canadians are like a cuter, tamer version of Americans. He put some effort into a chuckle, but told me Canadians probably will not respond nicely if I say it there. It was not meant to be an insult, FYI. I guess I'll just have to get all that out now, eh? Alright, I forced that "eh." To sum up what took me three paragraphs, I am going to start writing posts again with a twist on the original subject: moving to Canada. I'm an immigrant! That and I got an overwhelming response to keep this blog going. Ok, so it was basically from two of my aunts.

But I know you silent ones are out there...and are LOVING this.

The End...or Beginning?

As I sit here in Vanessa's house, almost packed, ready to jump on my bus to Buffalo Airport to take my flight home I realize....I'm not fully ready to go. For more reasons than I will explain here, I am actually sad to leave this Northern Country of LOONIES. Two of my best friends, Helena and Vanessa are here. Spending time after a year apart reminds me of our wonderful year together in England, and makes me not want to leave. All of my family should feel really special right now, because if it weren't for you, I might stay here for a bit longer.

Now Ottawa and Toronto are both great cities with different things to offer. That being said, I liked Ottawa a bit more, if just because everything is relatively close enough to walk, whereas with Toronto you have to take public transit. Toronto had a lot of culture which reminded me of San Francisco, and yet I still wasn't able to get good Mexican food here. That is not to say there isn't good Mexican food here because there probably is If you know me, you know that I could eat Mexican food every day of the week. So, when I get back, I'm just going to inhale some burritos.

I might update this blog with other life happenings, but for now, this is the end of my EPIC journey in Canada. I said The Beginning in the headline too, because of a certain someone with dual British/Canadian citizenship that will be sorely missed, and whom I plan on possibly traveling back to Canada to visit.

I will leave you with a couple of last pictures..some of the Canal, Helena, and my last night in Canada with my great new friends Warren and Kristen watching the Hockey game (there was an uproar when the US beat Canada, thankfully I wasn't in a bar):



It's been REAL, Canada!

The addiction begins...

I didn't think I could be addicted after one day. But once you get a taste, it's like you can't stop. I could potentially hurt myself, but I haven't, so I don't care. It's all I think about, I would like to do it all day if I could, but I am realistic in that I know it is physically impossible to do it all day. I did it the first time at 2am, but the equipment was too big and I couldn't even stand up. BUT NOW...I CAN!!!


We finally found skates that we can borrow for a while! Mine look like Batman's skates, and Helena's look like hiking boots. We went to her Aunt Maddie's house to get them..sweetest little Egyptian woman! She just wanted to feed us and protect us. She kept asking if Helena was feeding me enough, then wanted to drive us everywhere. We went skating, neither of us fell!! That in itself was a feat, but we skated like 2 miles and I honestly wanted to keep going. I want to skate everywhere now. The Canal is so cool, it's ridiculous. I can't imagine NOT going skating in the winter. It snowed last night and this morning so we thought we might not be able to go, but the website said the Canal is open, so we're gonna go skate again today!! Here are some more pictures of the Canal yesterday, Enjoy!

The Capital City

I apologize to all my faithful readers for lacking on my posts, as it has been more than a week since I posted anything. I am in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, and although many people from Toronto told me it's boring and there's nothing to do, I think they're wrong. I've been preoccupied with certain things, but my first day in Ottawa, Helena's boyfriend John aka Peps, took me around to see the main attractions of the city. In the winter, the biggest things in Ottawa are the Rideau Canal and the Winterlude celebration. The canal, which is about 4.5 miles long, is always open and there are hot chocolate and beaver tail stands lining it. People will skate to work and school, or skate to the pub and back. Winterlude is the winter festival where ice sculptures are set up and tons of activities span a couple of weeks. We walked around before it was all set up and looked at the sculptures:


We also went to the Parliament buildings and walked around:


From the Parliament buildings you can look across the river and see Quebec, it's a great view:


This is the library that only Parliament can use:

We walked around downtown and saw this great poster, couldn't pass up a photo:


Well I have to cut this short to go skate on the canal! Hopefully I don't end up with too many bruises! ALSO..HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! Love you!!

Montréal!!

We arrived in Montréal and the first thing we did was climb Mont Royal..which if you couldn't guess, is where the name Montréal came from. There was an amazing view of the city and snow all around. We also happened upon a sledding hill with dozens of little french kids sledding and tubing down. We wanted to go, but it was a little out of our price range.







This is a panoramic shot from the top of Mont Royal, you can click to enlarge:


The next day I went with my other lovely friend Helena and her boyfriend Peps to the Biodome, which is like a huge forest. There were parrots and monkeys just hanging around, so I guess they're pretty tame because they could just jump on people.



We also walked around Vieux Montréal a little bit and went to the pedestrian square:

This Rue des Artistes street is full of artists displaying their work during the summer:





And the next day I left with Helena and Peps to Ottawa (the Capital City if you weren't aware) to stay there for the next leg of my journey.