canada Keyword
Quebec
Prague was in my opinion the most beautiful city in Europe. It was like a fairy tale and I didn’t think I would find a city that could top it in the beauty stakes. That was until I found Quebec.
Quebec (or Quebec City), the capital of the Quebec Province is quite a small town with a population of around a million. Its’ skyline dominated by the Old Town built high on the hill in a location advantageous to defence. It is a walled city, in fact the only walled city north of Mexico on this continent. Quebec is clean, beautiful and interesting. While it lacks the nightlife of say Montreal, what little it does have is pretty rocking.
I had a great time walking all over Quebec. I spent the majority of my time in the Old Town, or down at the port. I rested my weary feet in fountains and bathed myself in the blazing sun. At night I couldn’t stop staring at the buildings and streets that glowed with lighting that seemed straight out of a movie.
At the moment the city is hosting it’s Summer Festival with Cirque de Soleil for free almost every night and the “Moulin a Image” a huge multimedia presentation across a ridonkulously big screen (actually the side of a massive silo). Thousands of people flood into the city each night to see either of these two spectacles and to eat at the hundreds of restaurants and cafes that lie scattered through the old town.
On top of all this the Hostel I stayed in, located in downtown was very cool. Totally relaxed, open and friendly with our hosts Pierre and Skippy, the little Jack Russell that would come in and sticky beak in on the rooms. It was a small hostel though, and the 2 toilets and showers sometimes struggled to cope with the demand. I am just glad that I am an early riser and beat the rush.
I only had 3 days in Quebec and there were a few things I would have liked to see that I missed out on. I could have spent a long time just soaking up the atmosphere. Oh well, just means I will have to go back.
Paris but not…
Montreal is a weird little place. Well, little isn’t really the right word. The city is the jewel in French Canadia’s Crown. With a population of around 1.6 million in the city and 3.6 in the ‘burbs Montreal is the second largest French speaking city in the world. It feels Metropolitan. Walking around the Latin Quarter, visiting the many bars and restaurants along St. Denis reminds me of Paris. In fact the vibe of the City is very much Paris, while still having enough of its own character to set itself apart from its big sister.
While in Montreal I have walked Mont Royale in the pouring rain, been out to a few bars and restaurants, played Scrabble with new friends in my very, very awesome hostel, rode the very cool Bixi bikes all over town and checked out the Biodome. I saw live music in pubs and clubs, and enjoyed the Franco Folies Festival with some friends from Toronto.
In a strange mental snap I spent a day looking for 3/4 length cargo pants in downtown Montreal. Finding this one article of clothing has become a bit of an obsession for me. My search has become a crazed compulsion, leading me into every store I can find to search rows and rows of clothes for shorts that aren’t quite pants and pants that aren’t quite shorts. How hard can they be to find really? Very hard evidently. I need to find a Kathmandu or Patagonia or some other camping goods store, something that seems pretty much non existent here. Maybe in Vancouver. Damn you 3/4 length cargos, release me from this strange neurosis.
I’ve had an awesome time in Montreal. It has been much friendlier and more interesting than Toronto. I will be back here again in about a week to catch my flight to Vancouver so I think I’ll be visiting the Blues Bar again, just for some quiet drinks and some live music. Great stuff.
Toronto
Toronto, not high on my list of “must sees” to begin with had quite a hard act to follow in New York. The city is the biggest in Canada with a population of around 8 million (depending on who you talk to), but it seemed empty and unsure of itself.
The tower that looms over the skyline is an example of this insecurity. It was built to show the world the power of Canadian industry and woah, was it mighty. Well… it was. It has since been surpassed in height and in the next few years there are several more buildings on their way to knock it further down the ladder. The Toronto feels a little like they are not accepting the fact that things are just moving forward, a constant progression that they are being swept along with rather than driving.
Don’t get me wrong, the people of Toronto aren’t backwards and the city is fairly modern but something just feels off. I feel I needed maybe more time and more local help to come to understand the importance and purpose of this city. Maybe it is that my impressions of Toronto were coloured slightly by the 35 day garbage strike that covered the city in a pall of rancid stink and litter. Or maybe even the unusual vibe of the hostel where a large portion of the residents were long-termers who’s attitudes formed a kind of “us and them” segregation that was hard to break the barriers of.
I did manage to get out and see a bit of the city, but it held no real wow moments, other than acting as a platform for me to launch into Niagara Falls. I went for a few beers at The Horseshoe, out clubbing with some other backpackers but was well and truly over it an hour in. I had a quiet night in watching movies and then quite the opposite drinking vodka with danes and germans till the wee hours of another night. Oh, and in what seems to be a staple of his holiday, I got completely and utterly drenched by a massive storm that swept over the city while I was out wandering. The skies opened up so much that within minutes of the torrential rain starting not a single inch of me was dry. I did provide a little entertainment to a collection of gym goers who had taken shelter in their lobby when I came in asking for a plastic bag to put all my electronic equipment in, dripping bucket loads of water on their floor and leaving bare foot prints leading out from their little refuge and into the dark beyond their doors. Some people look at me strangely when they see me walking barefoot through the city, but I believe feeling the ground beneath the hardened soles of my feet helps me to really connect with a place, to make it feel real. I don’t think there is a single city I have visited where I didn’t spend at least a day barefoot.
I said goodbye to Toronto with no real sense of dolefulness after a night of chatting with some frenchies until 5am. In fact I am sitting on my bus to Montreal right this moment wrapped in excitement in seeing somewhere new. I’ll also be meeting up with some of the nicer people I met at the hostel who will be making their way up to Montreal in the coming days. I hope to have a quiver of local knowledge to deliver when they come a-knocking.
Niagara Falls
Toronto has given me some fantastic weather, and the day that I jumped on the tour bus to Niagara Falls proved to be one of the best of the week. The blue skies, warm sun and cool breeze providing a backdrop to one of natures greatest attractions.
Waking early and scoffing down some pancakes I got amped for the trip. In the middle of a coffee I met Mark, the tour guide from Salty Bear Tours who rounded up 14 of us and piled us into a van.
It’s around a two hour drive around the lake to the Niagara region, during which Mark regaled us with stories of Canada, took questions and in general entertained us to our first stop : a winery.
As I had quite a big night just before the tour I wasn’t entirely keen on a wine tasting, but I did get the opportunity to try “Ice Wine” something we don’t get in Australia. It was extremely sweet, so not something I would normally enjoy, but a small taste was fine.
Moving on we headed into Niagara on the Lake for lunch and to stretch our legs. This town was pretty cool, nicely presented and utterly touristy. I grabbed some chicken tenders from the supermarket and sat in the park enjoying the sunshine.
At this point we were itching to see the falls, but Mark had a couple more spots to show us. First a lookout onto Niagara River, and then to the Whirlpool which was very impressive and BEGGED to be swum in.
Finally we hit Niagara Falls. I have to say I was amazed. While the falls themselves aren’t really that high only falling around 50 or so metres they throw around 168,000 cubic meters of water over their edge each every minute. The falls are actually made up of two separate major falls, the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls but the majority of the water goes over the Horseshoe Falls. Probably the most striking thing for me though was the sound. It wasn’t nearly as loud as I thought, even when practically underneath the falls on the “Maid of the Mist”.
“Maid of the Mist” is a tour which travels up the river, past the American Falls and then right up under the Horseshoe Falls. Battling with our ponchos was fun enough but looking up and seeing yourself surrounded by the falls was too much for words. I managed to grab a couple of shots without my camera busting due to water damage. Best 14 bucks I have ever spent.
I could have spent all day at the falls, but the tour was coming to a close. With huge smiles on our faces we headed back to the hostel. I had a great time that day, made new friends and got some great photos. I also marked off another of my “tourist” jobs for my adventure. “Niagara Falls” has a massive tick in my book.
Oh, see if you can spot the “No Smoking” sign under the waterfall. Classic comedy.
CN Tower
I’ve always wondered what in the human condition triggers this desire to “stand on the shoulders of giants”. To get up high, find a new perspective. It seems a universal thing. All over the world there are observation towers in skyscrapers, lookout points from mountains. We seek grand views. Do people yearn to rise above their lot, or do they wish to witness their insignificance first hand? I can not tell. One thing I know is, the CN Tower, once the tallest free standing structure on land in the world (now only bested by the still incomplete Burj Dubai), is a magnet for people seeking to look down on the world that they occupy.
Construction of the Tower was completed in 1976. The tower rises 553.33 meters over the Toronto Skyline and is quite easy to see on the horizon from Niagara nearly 200km’s away. The tower features two main observation decks, a glass floor, a restaurant and other touristy attractions. I spent around 2 hours up the tower, most of which was spent waiting in line. Looking out over the land at such a great height is pretty amazing. Watching firetrucks the size of my thumb nail scoot around the city was cool. The view does provide a change in perspective. The CN Tower is also probably the last “big” thing I will climb on my adventure, which is rapidly approaching its end, both in time left and amount of funds. *gulp*