Our Canadian Adventures

Home sweet home.

2009-08-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

Excuse my lateness, but in case you hadn't realised, we are safely home from Canada. We got home two weeks ago today, and life has been pretty busy, hence my delay. We spent a few days in Suffolk (REUNION IN SUFFOLK!), unpacking and then repacking, before moving into our new flat in Canterbury. The girls came to visit (REUNION IN CANTERBURY!), I registered at my new uni, then Seamus flew to Ireland (REUNION IN IRELAND!) and I went to London to see Kyra (REUNION IN LONDON!) before I flew to Germany (REUNION IN GERMANY!) to see Meike, Hanna and Vanessa, and last night, returned home to Suffolk (RE-REUNION IN SUFFOLK!). I think the reunions are all over now, and I have a couple of weeks to relax and hang out with my family (and new puppy and kitten!) before I move to Canterbury properly and start uni. So, I've really been too busy to miss Canada, or even contemplate missing Canada. It WAS good times, though.

I worked out we were there for 297 days, during which we visited fifteen cities, nine provinces (and two US states), and an awful lot of national and provincial parks. Waterton was so the most beautiful place we went to, although Newfoundland came pretty close, and BC would definitely be the province I'd move to. I liked everywhere we went, minus Lethbridge and Calgary (yes, even Toronto!) and my favourite thing about Canada is the diversity across the country. Diversity in every way...landscapes, climates, ethnicity, language, food, people, attitudes, industry, rates of GST...who needs to travel the world when you can just go to Canada? I will never forget the mountains, or the coastlines, or the people who shared their Canada with us (Erik the tour guide, Moose Travel, our two lots of farm hosts, our two lots of Couchsurfing hosts, the Algonquin crew, and our Waterton friends, especially Sue and Zen, Claudia, Al and Alex, Irina and Mayor Al, who I think about and miss every day). I am so happy to have met these people, seen these sights, done these outdoor activities, and drank all those beers.

I was thinking about making a new blog (our Canterbury adventures?), not that my life is that exciting these days (if it ever was), but social work/social issue-based. There is a lot I've wanted to talk about in terms of current events, my future studies etc, so I'll put a link here if I end up doing that in the next few days. I'm sad to sign out from my blogging career for too long, I'm pretty self-obsessed, so telling the internet world the ins and outs of my daily life has been fun. Until next time...

Skylines.

2009-08-08T05:21:00.000-07:00

1.Montreal on a cloudy day.
2.Montreal on a less cloudy day.
3.Ottawa.

Lobsters.

2009-08-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

Lobster traps, Gros Morne.

Making friends.

2009-08-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

Marche Maisonette, Montreal.

Photos from Ottawa.

2009-08-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ottawa was nice, we had a lot of fun there. We stayed in the jail hostel, which was a prison until 1972, and hasn't changed much since. It's meant to be one of the most haunted buildings in Ottawa (a place apparently known for its ghosts) but we didn't notice anything. It was a cool place to stay, anyway.

Apart from the aforementioned rafting adventure, we did some exploring, went to a great art gallery, drank a caesar, and did some shopping. Now we're back in Montreal; today we went to the Biodome, which has four different habitats and climates, and lots of animals, and actually changes temperature depending on which part you're in. It was cool. Then we visited a lot of markets....man, Quebec is good for markets. Tomorrow we're going on a bike tour! And then Friday is our last full day...

My scariest day.

2009-08-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

We're back from rafting. Such a scary day. Very fun though. There was one rapid; Bus-eater, where I had a near-death experience. We all did. We all knew it was going to be the biggest rapid of the day, with the highest chance of the raft flipping. I remember approaching the rapid. I remember flying off my seat. Then I remember surfacing and coughing up water, and I was surrounded by boats and people and paddles and everyone was screaming. And all I could think was:
1)I need to save the paddles!
2)I need to save Seamus!

Then a boat came up beside me and they were screaming at me to grab hold of them and come aboad. But in my panic, I didn't recognise them as the rescue team, and thought they were pirates trying to steal me. But then I could see Seamus on the boat too, and he had snot all round his face, so I thought I should go with the pirates, to clean Seamus' face if nothing else.

And Natasha smashed her leg on a rock, and got hit in the face with a paddle, but she was safely on board our own raft, and soon Seamus and I were there too, clean faces and everything.

But then I was a bit shaky for a while. I wasn't scared or nervous beforehand, but I guess you never know how you're going to react in emergency situations. Turns out, I don't react well.

And then at the end, we jumped off the raft and swam in the river, and I was wearing a wetsuit and I pretended to be a dolphin.

So maybe I banged my head a little when I went underwater.

Ottawa and whitewater rafting.

2009-08-03T03:56:00.000-07:00

We're in Ottawa, which is an underrated city I think, and today we're going rafting! And yesterday, we had our first, and last, caesars (the disgusting Canadian cocktail that I made a thousand of when I was working at the Kilmorey). Home on Sunday!!!

My feet hurt.

2009-07-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

We've walked so much in Montreal, I am exhausted! It's great though, there's so much to do here. We went to this light-and-sound show at the Notre Dame tonight, plus a museum, and Chinatown for lunch, and the market at the river. Tomorrow, we're going to Ottawa for a few days - including whitewater rafting! - then back to Montreal for a cycling adventure, an art gallery, and possibly a Martha Wainwright concert. SO EXCITING!

Montreal.

2009-07-31T05:21:00.000-07:00

Montreal's cool, it's like Toronto but with grass, open space and attractive buildings. More people speak english here than Quebec so we're embarrassing ourselves less. We walked miles yesterday; to the university, the park, the plateau (a cool district with nice shops and cafes), and the waterfront. And we are starting to conclude that Quebec culture is a little different in customer service (i.e. they don't really give any). There's so many things here we want to do! It's less pretty than Quebec but much more going on. And I found "British-style" crumpets in the supermarket!

Last few Quebec photos.

2009-07-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ten nights!

2009-07-29T10:36:00.001-07:00

We're on the train from Quebec City to Montreal, our penultimate stop on our adventure. Actually, it's our ultimate stop too, since we're going to Ottawa for the weekend, then heading back to Montreal for our final trip in Canada. Can you believe ten months is nearly over? I can't wait to see my parents! And the rest of my family, and my friends. Other than that, I haven't missed home much. There's a few things about the UK I prefer to Canada (banks, mobile phones, the difficulties of long-distance travel, architecture) but I'll miss the space of Canada, and the diversity (in terms of culture, landscape, buildings, accents and chips), the countryside, the lakes, mountains, forests, the snow, the wildlife....it's a good country. I can't believe I'll be home next week! We can have proper roast dinners, proper cider, and watch better television (sorry, Canada). It's hard not to count down when you're nearing the end. But I'm excited about Montreal, there's so much to do there. Although, the weather looks to be rainy, just like most of our summer. I tell you, one summer I'm going to go somewhere dry. I am sick of rain. I'd rather have -20 and snow than this endless rain.

Some Quebec City.

2009-07-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

1.Cute houses, in a carpark.
2.One of several murals.
3.Seamus and me!
4.Natasha and Seamus, sunbathing.
5.The Frontenac at night.

We've had fun in Quebec. Yesterday we went whalewatching and had a very exciting boat ride (it was like a rollercoaster! On water!), and saw lots of whales, plus some seals (poor seals, nobody cares about them), and a fjord! It was a great day! Today was sunny, at last, so we did pretty much nothing...just had some unsatisfying poutine, drank some beer and lay in the sun.

We're going to Montreal tomorrow, and there's so much to do! It's too exciting. And next Sunday, we'll be home.

Oh, my favourite thing about Quebec is the good and wide choice of local beers, plus the Quebec way of drinking. No longer do we have to go to liquor stores...they sell alcohol everywhere! And bars let you drink in isolation, rather than in combination with food. I love that.

Quebec.

2009-07-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

We are reunited with Natasha in Quebec! She's changed a bit since I last saw her. She's now a damsel with a small child, has a muffin for a face, and is a convicted solider. Life's funny like that. We just have to go with the flow.

Quebec is shitty in the weather stakes (but where isn't? Canada, you break my heart!) but is very pretty. My favourite thing is the good and varied alcohol supply. Today, we went to an interactive tour called 'The Convict's Last Drink'. Natasha was the convict, and we had to decide on her punishment. It mainly involved learning about 19th Century torture devices, and drinking local beers. My favourite kind of Sunday! Tomorrow, we're going whale-watching, hopefully. We've been buying lovely things, and hoping Montreal holds more shopping opportunities. I still haven't had Quebecois poutine, but I have had croissants.

More photos from this beautiful city later.

Bye Fredericton.

2009-07-23T05:06:00.000-07:00

After a lovely two days in Fredericton (oh, it is so good having our own room. Screw hostels...university residences all the way!), we're now heading to Quebec City in yet another epic journey, which could result in disaster if the train workers strike as they are threatening to. I'm sure it'll be fine though. And Natasha will be here tomorrow! And it's going to rain the whole time she's here!

Some more Fredericton.

2009-07-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

1.We stopped at Mexico on our way here.
2.Cultural Capital.
3.View across the river.
4.Christ Church Cathedral, which is modelled on the church in Snettisham, Norfolk.
5.An unexpected changing of the guard.

Lovely Fredericton.

2009-07-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

1.The lighthouse, which is also an ice-cream shop.
2.The old Government House.
3.Me!
4.Blueberry ale.
5.Our house of residence.

Victoria Row, Charlottetown.

2009-07-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

Things I haven't mentioned.

2009-07-22T06:06:00.000-07:00

Since my internet supply has been substandard for the last month, I feel I've missed out on so many things to share with you. I haven't talked about the warm, funny and beautiful family we stayed with in Cape Breton. I haven't talked about our Couchsurfing/farm work experiences. I haven't talked about Tony the sheep and how she met her unfortunate end. I haven't talked about how Seamus is growing his hair "for my birthday present", and how he looks beautiful yet messy, but very much like a traveller. I haven't talked about how I woke up one morning in Port Aux Basques with no hearing in my left ear, a situation that lasted a week, and resulted in the loss of my tragus piercing. I haven't talked about all our lovely bus journeys through Maritime countryside, which is prettier than Albertan countryside. I haven't talked about the Anne of Green Gables fever all over Prince Edward Island. I haven't talked about how we're going whale-watching in Quebec, and whitewater rafting in Ottawa. I haven't talked about how we seem to be missing every significant event in every city and town by just a couple of days, something which resulted in Seamus throwing a tantrum yesterday because we miss 'Family Fun Day at the church' in Fredericton. I haven't talked about how we saw a bear in Cape Breton. I haven't talked about how eastern Canada is generally more charming than western Canada in terms of architecture. I haven't talked about how I am excited to come back to the UK so I can drink Kopparberg, Magners and Aspalls! No more Strongbow please!

Fredericton.

2009-07-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

We're now in Fredericton, which is surpisingly lovely. You know when you just have a really good feeling for a place, for no concrete reason? That's how I feel about Fredericton. We're staying on the university campus, which is beautiful, and makes me want to be a student on a North American campus. We found an amazing thriftstore, the first I've really found in Canada, and we bought EVERYTHING. I have new tops, a new dress, and a beautiful/ugly (depending on if you are young and normal, or if you are....me) white cardigan. Photos tomorrow xxx

Charlottetown.

2009-07-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

It's so hard visiting places for only two or three days. You never really get a feel for a place, and just feel like you're passing through. Nevertheless, Charlottetown has been relaxing, we've pretty much just walked around, eaten and drank. Here's a few photos. Yesterday was gloomy and depressing, which made me sad towards Charlottetown, but today was so hot and sunny, and we met up with Bodeene, had lunch at the harbour, ate ice-cream, and drank a beer on this little street overlooking a bandstand with a band full of Michael Cera lookalikes. It was beautiful. We just have the morning here tomorrow before our bus leaves at 2pm for Fredericton. As far as I know, the city is very small so it'll be some more relaxing time before we head to Quebec for our final two weeks with Natasha. Charlottetown is full of lovely souvenirs by the way, it's pretty hard to restrain myself. We've barely bought anything since we've been travelling (except for my beautiful Newfoundland winter hat) but I'm making up for it now...

Last photos.

2009-07-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

1.The best goats have beards.
2.Just one of many bugs. This one was in our bed.
3.In Baddeck.
4.Me and Tony (RIP)
5.Me, Alexander Graham Bell, and Mabel.

More...

2009-07-18T12:49:00.001-07:00

1.Highland cows.
2.Piglets.
3.The farm.
4.Me and Jessie.
5.More Cabot Trail.

More.

2009-07-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

1.Seamus drinking on the beach.
2.Me at the beach.
3.Acadian lighthouse.
4.On the Cabot Trail.
5.An unexpected bear sighting.

Photos from the farm.

2009-07-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

1.The three helpers.
2.The farm.
3.Seamus in our uniform.
4.Seamus likes cupcakes.
5.Fashion on the farm!

Bye Cape Breton.

2009-07-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

We leave the farm tomorrow morning, by means of a 14-hour bus ride to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. I am very excited about our stay in Charlottetown, it's one of the places I've wanted to visit since before we came to Canada. We'll also be meeting up with Bodeene, who I haven't seen in over two years, and will mark the first of the many reunions that will occur during the next month.

The farm's been lovely. Fun, educational and inspiring. We went out on Saturday around the island, and it's so beautiful. I can't wait to get into a land of better internet so I can post photos. We drank cider on the beach and ate a good ice-cream. The weather has been lovely for the last ten days or so. In a week's time, Natasha arrives for our Quebec/Montreal/Ottawa adventure! And two weeks after that, we go home, and have to live real, grown-up lives. Seamus is very pessimistic about the future of international airlines (we've been reading and watching a lot about the oil crisis since we've been here), so who knows...maybe this is our FINAL long-distance adventure? Probably not, though. Let's go to China!

On the farm.

2009-07-11T06:13:00.000-07:00

We've been on the farm twelve days now and here's what we've done:

-Loaded and unloaded logs into and out of a truck
-Mucked out the barn
-Weeded
-Planted
-Dug beds
-Picked vegetables
-Cooked meals
-Baked cakes
-Herded cows
-Cleaned the house
-Done 800 loads of laundry
-Gutted sheep (Seamus only)
-Fixed the steps at the barn
-Fed pigs
-Collected rubbish
-Cleaned out the basement
-Scraped paint from the outside of the house
-Engaged in battles with three kids

And as the days get hotter, and I procure more and more insect bites despite wearing long-sleeved tops and trousers (in 28 degrees), a bug net and skin-dissolving repellent, I can at last see the appeal of Toronto. It's too polluted there to have bugs. I am so tired of it! Every day I get ten or twenty new insect bites, some of which look infected. It's so beautiful outdoors but it's just not worth being outside unnecessarily. It's the loveliest weather, and I have to wear a bug net through it!

On top of this, I caught another cold, which is actually ok now - just a sore throat and headache.

But the farm is lovely, and so relaxed. It's very different to the other farm we were on, where we began work at 8.30am and finished at 3pm, ate meals at exactly the same time every day etc. Here, we get up when we want, do whatever we like (they told us on our first day, they don't care what we do or how long it takes us, as long as we make some progress whilst we're here), and finish when we like. Today, the husband is taking us on the Cabot Trail, which is a drive around the island. I am excited for this! Cape Breton is so pretty and green, and we haven't had much of a chance to explore until now.

Phone number.

2009-07-10T05:58:00.000-07:00

For the next week, we have no phone signal, but from next Friday (17th), we should be contactable again. However, our Canadian phone contract runs out any day now, so please resume usage of the O2 number (07716 082200) - it costs the same for UK people to text that number wherever in the world I am.

In other news, I am sick again!

On exploring.

2009-07-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

"Don't keep forever on the public road, going only where others have gone and following one after the other like a flock of sheep. Leave the beaten path occasionally and dive into the woods. Everytime you do so, you will be certain to find something that you have never seen before. Of course it will be a little thing, but do not ignore it. Follow it up, explore all round it; one discovery will lead to another, and before you know it you will have something worth thinking about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the result of thought" - Alexander Graham Bell.

The million dollar question.

2009-07-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

Why are all North American showers so good, but all their toilets are so bad? Why have they perfected water pressure to ensure every shower is strong and powerful, but have fallen behind in making their toilets a similar standard? Everywhere I go, if I try and flush more than a small wee, the toilets back up. I have never encountered so many 'out of order' toilets in all my life. Some people whinge about using outdoor drop toilets (for those who can't work it out, it's when whatever you put into the toilet "drops" into a hole in the ground) but I can't see what the difference is in not having the option to flush, and not having a functioning flush.

Cape Breton Island, more farm work, and a strange B&B.

2009-07-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon, we bid a sad farewell to Gros Morne, and headed to Port Aux Basque, on the south coast of Newfoundland. From here, we'd take the ferry to North Sydney, Nova Scotia. We arrived in Port Aux Basque at 9.30pm, and were staying in a B&B "5 minutes walk from the bus terminal, just up the street". Having met the woman who wrote these words to me, I can safely say that there is no way she could've walked it in 5 minues. Seamus and I walked down a busy highway in the dark for 15 minutes before admitting defeat, walking back to the bus terminal and catching a cab to the B&B. I was all ready to be angry at the owner...until we arrived, and I realised there was no way she'd understand me anyway. Really, I sometimes feel like my home life is surrounded by old people who don't understand me (not YOU, Daddy), but this lady was the most difficult I'd encountered. It was like staying with your grandma, if your grandma was very deaf, and had an immaculate house that you were afraid to breathe in. Really, it seems silly to run a B&B if it's going to be so...scary and clean. And pink. But enough about that. We had a long, good sleep and then headed to the ferry port. The journey (5 hours) was pretty rough, but the boat had a cinema (how emotional is 'My friend Flicka'?), and a cafeteria, so we were set. On arriving in North Sydney, we took a short bus trip to Baddeck, in the middle of Cape Breton Island, where we were met by our farm hosts who took us to their house and fed us dinner. I love that about farm hosts. We're staying in the sunporch, which would be nicer if there were more sun (yeah, the rain continues to follow us....watch out on August 9th, if it's not pouring in England already, I'll definitely be bringing some rain for you). It's nice to have our privacy, and this farm is huge, and they have a baby sheep who is my new BFF. She's an orphan, so I have adopted her. Today we worked HARD. We drove the truck to the forest and collected loads of felled trees, loaded them into the truck, drove them back to the farm and unloaded them. I worked harder than I've ever worked, I think. It was exhausting. The household is very chaotic, but nice and relaxed. We're here for a couple of weeks now, so it'll be nice to chill and settle a bit. Unfortunately, there's no wireless, just dial-up which isn't great at...dialling up, and we have no mobile reception, so if you need to contact me, probably best just to send a pigeon....

Sunset at Sally's Cove.

2009-07-03T10:56:00.001-07:00

A bit more Gros Morne.

2009-07-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

We stayed in a village called Sally's Cove, population 17. There was an amazing shop down the street which sold beer, crafts and snacks. Newfoundland is unlike the rest of Canada (excluding Quebec) in that you can buy beer in stores. Most places you have to go to licensed liquor stores, which is very strange for english people who can buy alcohol in the corner shop/supermarket/anywhere (ahh, binge-drinking Britain, how I miss you). However, in Newfoundland, you can get beer in most small shops (probably because the communities are so tiny), but you have to go to liquor stores for wine and spirits. So, the shop down the street was very useful for us to buy local beer (Quidi Vidi beer, delicious!). Also, the shop had a burger van where Seamus ate moose burger and I ate Newfoundland chips (this is something I have to share with the British when I get home....it's really unhealthy and good for hangovers, and YUMMY). Finally, the craft-part of the store sold lovely handknitted things, and I bought a new hat and it's awesome, I look so hot in it. But it's June, and the hat is woolly, so it's just one more thing to lug around right now. Unless I become TRULY Canadian and wear a wool hat all year-round. Even in my place of work. It's something to think about.

So, the adventure tour we were on was amazingly good value; $369 each for three nights accommodation, meals, transport across the island (11 hours remember!) plus guided hikes and kayaking. It was also very relaxed and friendly and fun. We went biking, swimming in the "pond" behind the house and to a karoke bar (actually, that was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I'd forgotten about it until just now, and I've started thinking about it again now, and now I can't get the image of seventy-year-olds singing 'Stand by me' followed by nineteen-year-olds singing 'I kissed a girl...'. It was like going to a wedding where everyone gets drunk and does crazy things, except we didn't know anyone else at the wedding. THAT kind of night). Anyway, we had a wonderful time, and learnt a lot about Newfoundland people and history, and it's so interesting I will probably blog about it sometime. I loved Newfoundland so much. We're already planning our next trip back here, there's this four-day hike along this mountain range, and it sounds so good...

Hiking Gros Morne Mountain.

2009-07-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday was an intrepid expedition! We hiked Gros Morne Mountain, the highest point in the park (and the second highest in Newfoundland), a hike that's described as "very strenuous" in the guidebooks. For this reason, I was pretty nervous, especially as one of the guys in our group was hiking without his girlfriend because she was "too scared". That's usually me! I'm usually too scared! But by now, it was too late, we were at the base of the mountain, and I am so glad I went!

The hike was beautiful. It took about seven hours, a 16km round trip. It started out warm, then it POURED with rain (this made me feel even more intrepid). The rain part was a bit miserable - I was soaked through to my knickers. THAT kind of rain. It rained for about 45 minutes, then the sun came out and it was beautiful.

It was such a good hike! We saw four moose, and learnt some stuff about Newfoundland flowers. The views from the top of the mountain were so fantastic. Maybe the best hike I've done in Canada.

Kayaking at St. Paul's Bay.

2009-07-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

On Friday, we went kayaking at St. Paul's Bay. The day started out with this heavy fog, we could barely see two metres ahead of us. Seamus and I had a double kayak, and we were a very good kayaking team! I am a very fast kayaker. Seamus is a bit ropey though. We stopped at this little bay to have lunch. And we saw seals! It was amazing, they all swam around and underneath our kayak. You know I like animal encounters. We saw about a thousand Arctic Terns too. Maybe two thousand.

Anyway, I love kayaking! It was so much fun. You know, the overwhelming reason for us to move to Canada long-term is the amount of outdoor activities, and the communities associated with them. There's this store, Mountain Equipment Coop. You pay to become a member, and and it sells outdoor equipment, but at a lower price because it's not for profit. They have them in big cities in Canada, and they have events like Bear Awareness courses, and noticeboards advertising outdoor events and groups. It's so great - as far as I know, we don't really have anything like this in the UK. Ourdoor activities are just part of everyday life in Canada, which makes it really easy.

Having said that, I don't know if I want to move to Canada. I don't miss much from the UK, but there are a few things that piss me off about this country...another rant may be forthcoming regarding mobile phone costs and how annoying Canadian banks are...oh and mosquitos. I had never truly stopped to enjoy the bug-free existence I had in the UK. It's so nice not to have to worry about bug spray or bug nets. I miss those blissful times.

Twilingate.

2009-07-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

Our journey across Newfoundland was about 11 hours by car. We went through pouring rain, sunshine, grey clouds, back to pouring rain, fog...it was a loooong journey. The interior of the island is just green forests; pretty, but not spectacular. But the coastline is amazing. We stopped at Twilingate and saw icebergs! It was such a pretty village. Cute little white houses scattered all over the place with not much logic. We had lunch at a fish restaurant. There was nothing I wanted on the menu (they like their fish here), except a grilled cheese sandwich. But it was the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever had! And I had mashed potato with gravy on the side! It's been a long time since I had mashed potato. It was a wonderful meal.

We got to Gros Morne at about 6.30pm in the evening. Our trip was with a small tour group, who drove us across the island, gave us a room in their house, food and excursions for four days. It turned out to be really good value and so much fun. It's just like staying with friends, very relaxed and laidback. The village we're staying in has a population of 17, and there's a shop/burger van 15 minutes walk away. We're right on the beach, it's beautiful. There's five dogs and a cat running around, lots of books and dvds, and cool people to talk to. Our first day was kayaking...

St. John's.

2009-07-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

Our stay in St. John's was too short. We were staying with our second Couchsurfing host (more about Couchsurfing another time), Jenna, who was fantastic. She drove us around to some places which we wouldn't have been able to see without her. It was like staying with a friend - she took us for traditional Newfoundland food, we watched movies, had ice-cream...it was great. We pretty much just walked around on Wednesday; looked at the memorial park, saw the harbour, went on an epic adventure to out-of-town, by accident. It was a very nice, unpretentious city. Considering they get a lot of tourists, they don't do the Banff/Niagra thing of making everything shiny. The "Irish pubs" actually ARE Irish pubs. And look at the houses! Aren't they adorable? I want to live there.

So, after a quick stay in St. John's, we continued with our Newfoundland adventure. We were collected on Thursday morning, in the pouring rain, to go on a tour to Gros Morne National Park. See the next entry...

An interlude.

2009-07-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

We are now on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, working on a farm. Gros Morne was amazing, I loved it. We now have no wireless, just very slow and unreliable dial-up. I have a thousand photos and stories but it'll have to wait. For several weeks, probably....I miss blogging. Home in 38 days by my last count!

I love Newfoundland!

2009-06-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

This is in and around St John's, Newfoundland. Isn't it fantastic? I love it here. For those who don't know; Newfoundland is an island off the east coast of Canada, where lots of British and Irish settled when they first found Canada. As a result, people have these crazy accents, they're more Irish than Canadian. There's lots of Irish/British pubs, that are genuinely Irish/British and not just what Canadians want Irish/British pubs to be like. St. John's is a fishing town, with these amazing coloured row houses. There's been this really heavy fog sitting over the sea since we got here, but it's kind of romantic and mystical.

Weird, you go halfway across the world, and end up in a town that looks like half the places in England. Ooh, but there's icebergs here!

By the way, Seamus and I look kind of hot in that photo above, don't we? Like we're modelling the latest winter jackets from The North Face.

A bit more Halifax.

2009-06-24T04:58:00.000-07:00

1)Changing of the guards.
2)The first protestant church in Canada.
3)The clock tower.
4)Concentrating hard on steering my tug boat at the Maratime Museum of the Atlantic.
5)Our beer samplers at Henry House pub!

Monday was a good day in Halifax. We went to the University, the public gardens, a good museum, and a really nice pub. It was still grey and rainy but we manned it up and had fun. I don't think we were in Halifax long enough to get acquainted with the downtown area, but I liked the waterfront, and all the open space felt so good after Toronto. We were hosted by a lovely couple, Doug and Deb, in their beautiful house downtown, and it was so nice to be out of a hostel, and having real conversations with people who live in Halifax, and thus can point you the right way in things to do. They were awesome. We had these beer samplers at the pub, and I feel this blog should've been steered in a more alcohol-fuelled manner. Like, 'my journeys across Canada drinking all they have to offer' or something. The pub was an english pub, and the beer sampler was six small glasses of beer offered by the Granite Brewery. Then we tried some special blends - Seamus has Black & Velvet (Strongbow and stout) and I had a lager with lime cordial. It was good. And we had huge and delicious burgers. I think I am getting fat, eating out all the time.

Anyway, although our time in Halifax was too short, we'll be back in Nova Scotia in a few days. For now, we're in St John's, Newfoundland, which is BEAUTIFUL (if a bit like west country, England). I have lots of beautiful photos already - I'll upload some later.

Rainy Nova Scotia.

2009-06-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

Look! It's almost like we're in the UK! Seamus is wearing a raincoat! It's pouring with rain even though it's the first day of summer! We're in a fort! Seamus is firing canons!

We are, in fact, in Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, and the entire Maritime provinces. It is rainy and miserable, which is sad because this city seems like such a summery place. We are staying in this amazing neighbourhood, with coloured houses. I'll try to take some photos tomorrow, because it's so cute. We went to the citadel, the waterfront, and took a ferry to a pub in Dartmouth. A ferry to the pub! We don't have that at home!

Also, I think people have hybrid accents here, like British/Irish-Canadian combos. I will explore this more tomorrow, if I can actually find any people (the fact that it was a rainy sunday meant there Halifax looked like a ghost town. Also, shopping on sundays was illegal until 2006, so I think it's still not common to shop on sundays).

People in hostels.

2009-06-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

You meet some funny people in hostels. The other day, a girl had peas for dinner. Like, peas from a can. Cold. On a plate. By themselves. It seems the portion was too big for her though; she had a couple of mouthfuls, then finished.

Right now, there's a big group of scenester girls here. About six or eight of them, dressed in ballgowns, covered in tattoos. I guess it's fair enough in Toronto. It would have been weird in Jasper. They just don't look the hostel type. And I've never seen girls in their twenties so clone-like. Don't people normally grow out of dressing the same at about fifteen? They all have the same tattoos, in the same places.

There's a couple in this hostel who were in the same hostel as us in Jasper. WHAT ARE THE ODDS? Actually, they're probably quite high, given that Jasper and Toronto are very well-travelled places for backpackers. But still....it's weird.

We've been in this room for 11 days, with two days in the middle in Algonquin. And our roomates keep moving out, but staying in the hostel. We've started to think we smell, or snore. I keep telling myself they're just moving into rooms with their friends, but it's suspicious. They're dropping like flies.

In some hostels, people sit all day on their laptops, and go drinking at night. I think these are jobseekers, otherwise, why would you go halfway across the world to write on facebook?

Then, why would you go halfway across the world to write in a blog which nobody reads...?

Infection?

2009-06-20T07:01:00.001-07:00

Apologies for disgusting subject of this post.

You know I got all those insect bites in Algonquin last week? I got two types of bites; mosquito bites and black fly bites. The black flies draw blood when they bite, but I didn't have any pain or itching. The mosquito bites, on the other hand, itched a lot, and since some were in awkward places (palm of hand etc), it was pretty annoying. So, I was taking some antihistamines and then JUST as the mosquito bites got better, five days after Bite Day, I woke up in agony from the black fly bites. And they continue to hurt, and swell, and itch. I have moved from antihistamines to Advil. And now, eight days after Bite Day, my legs look like this, and are swollen, and really sexy-looking.

Should I go to a doctor, or wait it out? I really don't want to have to make another insurance claim. But I really don't want my legs to have to be amputated either.

Bye Toronto.

2009-06-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we're flying to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where it is due to rain for the entire time we're there. I hate the rain. Toronto has been HOT, too hot, for most of our time here. I've liked it here more than I thought I would. Yesterday we went to the university, which is beautiful, and I have been told there are some nice parks around too. The trouble is, if you have no money, Toronto is pointless. There's great shops, cafes, museums, galleries and bars, but nowhere nice to hang out in the sunshine. Except those elusive parks. There are some cool neighbourhoods to walk around, like Kensington, but there's only so long you can walk on polluted, busy streets. I just want to sit in a park for a while, but I can't find any. I can't even find any tiny patches of grass. The only city I can liken Toronto to is London, and London has a lovely riverside, and great parks. Until I find this in Toronto, I can't see what all the fuss is about.

But, the different neighbourhoods are really nice, and there are good shops. And there's lots to do. So, I don't dislike it here at all, it's just...not as good a city as Vancouver. West beats east anyday!

Some photos from Toronto.

2009-06-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

A bad dining experience in Canada.

2009-06-19T05:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had my first bad meal in Canada. We've had the odd dodgy server, and sometimes there's not that much choice for vegetarians, but I am generally very easily pleased. I like food, I'm not that fussy, and I love eating out.

Yesterday we went to an irish pub, usually a safe bet in terms of food and drink. I ordered a veggie wrap (yum, goat's cheese!) and a Strongbow (see previous post). When my cider came, it was flat. It's not meant to be flat. When my food came, there was no goat's cheese. Just lettuce, in a wrap, with a sauce that tasted like vinegar. And chips that tasted like salt.

I didn't like the server. He was crap.

Server: How's everything over here?
Me: My cider's flat.
Server: Cider's meant to be flat.
Me: ...no it's not.
Server: Yes it is. You're getting it mixed up with beer. Beer has fizz, cider is flat.
Me: No. Believe me, I've drunk a lot of cider, and a lot of Strongbow. It's not meant to be flat.
Server: Well, I can get you another pint, but that will taste the same.
Me: No thank you. And, this wrap is meant to have goat's cheese in.
Server: No, it's not.
Me: Yes, it is. Look at the menu.
Server: Ok, but it's not meant to have goat's cheese.
[server spends about five minutes staring blindly at menu, whilst I guide him to the correct place)
Server: ...oh. Our old wrap didn't have goat's cheese in. Ok, I'll go and check with the kitchen.
[leaves and returns a minute later]
Server: Ok they didn't tell me they'd run out of goat's cheese. I'll take the cost of your drink off the bill.
[walks off before I have time to respond]
[I whine to Seamus for several minutes]
[server returns]
Server: Ok, I know you didn't like your meal, so I'm just charging you for his meal and drink.
[drops bill on table and walks off, never returning to take our plates]

Most service in Canada is very good, if a little lacking in personality. This was awful! He didn't ask if I wanted to eat something else instead, or if we wanted another (different) drink. Or apologise. Or smile. I am not fussy, or a bitch. I never complain about anything, normally. Thank god he didn't charge me. It was obvious he just wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible.

After this, we went to a cheesecake cafe and I made myself a bit sick with cheesecake.

Canada and alcohol.

2009-06-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

One of our favourite things to do in Canada, or any other country, is drink. We like going to the pub and finding local beers, and drinking them. Lately, I've been drinking less beer because I have had an upset tummy. My routine in a pub normally goes like this:

Me:Do you have any cider?
Barperson:No
Me:Do you have...Pimm's?
Barperson:No
Me:Do you have sangria?
Barperson:No
Me:Ok, can I have rum and sprite please?

Drinking rum is really a last resort for me. Lately, I've found a few pubs with Pimm's or sangria, presumably because summer is here, but they are not common. Cider is around, but not everywhere, and it often costs a lot ($6.50 for a can of StrongboW!). I have found one pub so far that sold Magner's...that was a good day. Anyway, cider is definitely my drink of choice. I hate drinks which don't come in pint glasses.

Anyway, Canada has a good choice of local breweries, each with a few types of beer. There's something for everyone! Although, we do find that every brewery does the exact same type of beer; an IPA, a wheat beer, an Irish-style stout, an English-style ale....

Here are all the local breweries we've tried up until now:

Vancouver: Yaletown Brewery
Granville Island Brewing
Growers Dry Cider

Calgary: Big Rock Beer (our "local" in Waterton so we spent six months drinking Grasshopper (their lager) and Traditional (their ale).

Whitehorse: Yukon Brewing Company

Nelson: Nelson Brewing Company
Columbia Brewery (brews Kokanee, one of the most famous beers in Canada, it's not very good though)

Jasper: Jasper Brewing Company

Toronto: Steam Whistle Brewing
Mill Street Brewery
Nickel Brook Beers

Chicago: Goose Island (expensive because we were up the Hancock Tower)

Other than beer, Canada's main alcoholic drink is caesars, which I think I've discussed before. Vodka, clamato juice, lime, worcestershire sauce, tabasco, salt and pepper, garnished with olives and celery/asparagus (depending on where you are). It's revolting. Canadians also order beer with a side of clamato juice, and mix the clamato with their beer in order to spice up their beer.

Conclusion: Canadians are weird.

Canada also produces ice wine, which I mentioned a couple of posts ago. It is delicious and expensive.

I can't really find anything online that discusses Canadian drinking culture in a semi-academic manner, so any evidence I have is purely anecdotal. I think Canadians drink a lot, and drink drive more than British people do. Having worked in a pub in Canada, I am well aware of how many people drove home after a night at the pub. Maybe it's just Waterton though. The trouble is, Canada's so big that the pub is usually far from where you live. This is something I've noticed about villages here. At home, small villages almost always have a pub. Shadingfield does, and we have a tiny population. In Canada, villages don't have churches or pubs a lot of the time! What on earth are the people supposed to spend their time doing? What else is there but drinking and church?!

An old video.

2009-06-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

This is a video Seamus took on Bear's Hump last November. I couldn't upload it in Waterton because the internet connection was so bad, but now I am in the real world, with real wifi, I remembered this video and thought I'd see if I could share it now.

LISTEN TO/WATCH HOW WINDY IT IS!

Niagra Falls.

2009-06-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we did The Most Touristy Thing Ever and went to Niagra Falls. Man, that place is a tourist trap. Yesterday was insanely hot and humid (again) and we had a bad start to the day and were nearly late, and forgot sunglasses and suncream. I blame Seamus for all of this. ANYWAY, we used Moose Travel once again, because the Greyhound costs pretty much the same amount, and Moose also take you to a winery and Niagra-on-the-lake.

The winery was cool. We tasted some wines, and learnt some stuff about wine-making. We tried ice wine for the first time - it's made in winter from the frozen sap in grapes, and it's DELICIOUS. It tastes like really yummy cough syrup. You're on only meant to drink tiny amounts, for dessert, but I know I'd drink tons if I could. And that would be some sugary vomit.

After that, we went to Niagra-on-the-lake, which is pretty much the Canadian version of Southwold. It's perfect-looking, and very cute. It looks like the town Gilmore Girls was filmed in. We bought some lunch (as advised by our driver, because Niagra itself is really overpriced) and took some photos, before moving onto Niagra Falls.

I'm kind of upset by the Canadians letting Niagra Falls get so disgusting. And yet, I'm pretty jubilant that they got the "good" side of the Falls, whilst the US totally lost out (from the States-side, you can barely even see the Falls, you can just...hear them). But really, the town is gross, like Disneyworld or Vegas. See photo above for evidence. Obviously the Falls themselves are amazing, but the town is horrible. We did pay to go on the Maid of the Mist boat ride, but it was pretty cool. The boat goes ride up against the Falls, and everyone gets soaking but it was weirdly exhilarating and funny. After that, we took some photos, then lay in a park and dried off.

Aside from this, doesn't Seamus look hot and brooding in the photo above? Except, you'll have to click on the photo itself to see Seamus. Because blogspot is stupid.

Some photos from Algonquin Park.

2009-06-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

1)Our fire - structural genius.
2)Our group.
3)Seamus and me at the Lookout.
4)Drinking vodka on top of the fire tower. Please note - this is illegal.
5)A moose and her calf.

What a wonderful weekend! We had a great group - three english people, a russian, an irish, a dutch, an austrian, a libyan and a japanese (he took a lot of photos). Our guide was the best we've had on one of these trips - very relaxed and friendly. We did some nice hikes, and canoed to a waterfall to swim. Seamus slid down the waterfall in an inner tube, it was pretty high and a bit scary. No photos, unfortunately. The swimming was amazing anyway, it was so refreshing. We made campfires and cooked marshmallows, sang songs round the fire, had a barbeque, watched the Stanley Cup final and played frisbee. A very good weekend for a birthday.

25 in Algonquin Park.

2009-06-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

Back from a busy and wonderful weekend in Algonquin Park. My birthday was secret. We were staying in the forest, with no internet, so on Saturday, I received one phone call (thanks Vikki and Lu, you're the best) and one text (thank you my birthday twin!). Lots of emails and facebook messages on my return though, thanks. Bad year for gifts and cards though; I got one card, from my parents (the first of my life my dad didn't sign...what happened?) and one gift, from Seamus (a necklace and earrings, but he gave them to me a few weeks ago). But it was a lovely day filled with canoeing, swimming in the lake, hiking, eating, drinking, campfires and fun. Unfortunately, my most prominent gift from the weekend is insect bites. I have over sixty, some are black fly bites (yucky bleeding wounds which luckily don't hurt or itch) and others are mosquito bites. I got over sixty, Seamus got....two. I'm delicious, it seems. We always knew I am susceptible to bites, and also that I swell. So I am swollen and sore, and STILL have a cold. I am feeling pretty crappy, overall.

Photos later, anyway! Oh and we bought shares in the Mountain Equipment Coop...that was pretty exciting! More about that another time.

Toronto and taxi drivers.

2009-06-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night was another long journey, this time at least being all in one mode of transport, the lovely Greyhound Bus. We only have two more journeys with Greyhound (nice short journeys) and then we never have to use them again! Unless we come back to North America one day. Greyhound may be cheap, but the staff are always rude and unhelpful, the depots are generally seedy, and the toilets never flush or have soap/sanitiser. And sometimes, people have their heads cut off whilst travelling. By comparison, travelling with Amtrak was fantastic. Anyway, our journey from Chicago to Toronto was twelve hours overnight, and not too awful (and the Canadian border people let us straight through, of course!). I was still pretty cranky by the time we got to Toronto bus depot though.

And this is where we had the worst taxi driver of all time. The second we approached the taxi queue, a large gruff man (some kind of taxi pimp) asked us where we needed to go, and then ushered us towards a taxi. The driver of our taxi spoke little english, and obviously had no idea where our hostel was. The taxi pimp and taxi driver had a lengthy discussion, mainly involving these lines:

Taxi driver: I don't know where that it! Can't someone else take them?
Taxi pimp: No! You'll never learn if I keep letting someone else take your customers! I TOLD you, just turn left on this road, go past the Sheraton etc etc
Taxi driver: But I don't know where those are...

We should have just got out of the taxi then and there, and asked for a driver who did know where he was going. This journey was 2km (I know, we could've walked it, but we'd just had a twelve hour coach journey, remember?), and I had been told by the hostel it would cost "no more than $10". Due to taxi driver's complete failure to DO HIS JOB, it cost $20. That's a 100% increase on the quoted price. That's a lot to two people who lived on a combined budget of $100 a day. Seamus had a map, and knew exactly where we were going, but unfortunately taxi driver could not understand him. And drove us in the wrong direction for $12-worth of taxi fare.

But because we were tired (me) and non-confrontational (Seamus), we said nothing. But we did not tip. In the end, he didn't even get us to the hostel. When the metre reached $20, Seamus just told him to stop, and we walked the rest of the way (only 5 minutes or so).

I will not take a taxi in Toronto again.

Anyway, I had mixed reviews of Toronto from friends who've visited, and after one day, I remain exactly mixed. It is by no means beautiful (so far, anyway), but there are some amazing neighbourhoods with wonderful cafes, pubs, shops and galleries. Lots of areas are very bohemian and fun, and I haven't been to any cities in Canada until now that are so eclectic. However, as I said, there is really nothing pretty here, apart from some "old" buildings (as in, old for Canada, and thus not really that spectacular to someone who lives in Canterbury). There's no real green space, and the waterfront is outright ugly. There's not even enough skyscrapers to have a good skyline, like Chicago does.

But I have only been here a day and I am probably judging too soon. Tomorrow morning we're going to Algonquin Park, a couple of hours away, until Sunday night, when we get back to Toronto for five days. So we'll have more time to explore next week. We are lucky, and the Worldwide Short Film Festival is in Toronto next week, and we are going to go to a few screenings of that. I'm really excited about it, I love short films, and there is such a lot of cool things showing. Seamus is heartbroken because he knew the museum here has the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition, but we just found out it doesn't start until June 27th, so we'll miss it. And we wanted to go to a Blue Jays game, but they're just playing this weekend, and we already booked to go to Algonquin Park. And we're refusing to go up the CN Tower because it is disgustingly expensive, and taxes in eastern Canada are TOO HIGH (12% in Ontario, compared to 5% in Alberta!) so we're sulking about that too. I miss the mountains too. Maybe we should go back to Waterton...

Goodbye USA.

2009-06-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

1. Suburban America - our street "in" Chicago.
2. North Ave beach. A million volleyball games, in front of skyscrapers.
3. Rainclouds over the city.
4. Me at Buckingham Fountain.

A few more photos from Chicago. We are just packing (read: I am on the internet and Seamus is watching a film) after a little trip to the bakery. The suburbs are weird. The neighbourhoods off 95th Ave are really pretty but the main street itself is horrible, an endless parade of Walgreens and takeaways. I would rather live IN a city, or in the country itself, than somewhere like this which has the worst of both worlds (busy, expensive, lack of community, too many cars).

The bakery was good though.

Family barbeques.

2009-06-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

It's really nice staying with Seamus' family in Chicago rather than yet another hostel. We have no curfew, our own room, can cook whatever we want, whenever we want, watch tv, no forced conversations with drunk Australians....it's also good seeing people "from home" (even though it's not MY home, and they've all lived here for years), having gone nearly eight months without any familiar people (excluding the two days we spent with Jesse in Milk River). Seamus' dad has eleven brothers and sisters, five of whom live in Chicago, along with thousands of children. Seamus has so many cousins! He doesn't know most of their names, but then, he doesn't know my name half the time. So, yesterday there was a barbeque for everyone, and I was feeling quite crappy (swine flu?), and Uncle Dennis kept apologising for how traumatic the occasion must have been for me (haha, he should meet MY family). All the men in Seamus' family look the same, with identical hairlines and zero baldness. Also, everyone is tall and thin in the Kerlin crew. Maybe if we breed, we will make superhuman babies, what with our very different genetics.

So, last night I listened to an assortment of Kerlins discuss religion and travelling and Ireland and religion and alcohol and Australia and skydiving and religion and family trees and Christmas and poetry and religion and US politics and homosexuality and religion and racial conflict and gangs and religion and education and religion. You get the picture. Fun times, though.

Today was hot and sticky, it was disgusting. We learnt all about ancient Americans in the Field Museum, and I saw the biggest fountain in the world. Tomorrow night, we have another l-o-n-g bus ride to Toronto. Great, an even bigger city. I'd forgotten the delights of hearing sirens all day and night.

Whilst I think of it, here's a quirk of Canadians which I think is adorable: at traffic lights, Canadian pedestrians will ALWAYS wait for the green light before they cross. Even if they can see for miles each way (which you usually can over here, with the roads being so bloody straight) that there's no car coming, they'll patiently wait, like lemmings, rather than daring to cross. It makes sense. Safety first, right? It just surprises me. Americans are not the same. They'll run out in front of cars, buses, fire engines. I don't know why they even bother with the pretence of the traffic light system. Americans are such risk-takers. They all talk on their phones whilst driving! Actually, they all talk on their phones, period. Herds of people walk down the streets, skipping across the roads in front of oncoming traffic, with their phones glued to their ears. I do not have the necessary skills to walk and talk.

...ok, enough unnecessary stereotyping for today. Night xxx

Chicago.

2009-06-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

Chicago is lovely, I like it much more than I thought I would. We've done all the touristy things; seen the Bean, gone to the free zoo, had ice-cream on the pier, drank cocktails at the top of the Hancock Tower ($13!). It looks beautiful from everywhere. We went to the Cheesecake Factory in the most bargainous meal of all time, and today I made my triumphant return to Panda Express. It's a little daunting being in a big city after seven months in Waterton/Jasper etc. I can't tell if it's the fact we're in a city, or that we're in the US, that feels so different. Probably a bit of both.

Welcome to the USA.

2009-06-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

So, we're finally in Chicago after a terrible 26 hours journey...well, at least we saved $500...

We left Banff on Monday evening, and were overjoyed to find there was free wifi at Calgary Airport (at last, I have found something to like about that city!). Our flight to London was fine. We flew with Westjet, Canada's budget airline. Although, less cheap, and less awful. We even had televisions in the seats! Seamus watched Star Trek and I tried to sleep, but it wasn't proper sleep. Because of the time difference, we got to London at 6am, still feeling like it was the night before, and discovered our snacks had leaked over everything in our bag (seven-grain salad with a very sticky and toxic-coloured vinegarette...). Strike 1.

All we knew about London was that they have a really good public transport system, and it's true! So we took two buses to the Greyhound station for a couple of dollars, thanks to very nice and helpful bus drivers. We had a couple of hours before our bus to Detroit, so we put our stuff in lockers and went for a wander. We got breakfast, the only thing I liked on the menu was pancakes, but all those who've been to North America will know that pancakes over here are not the same. What I got was pretty much cakes in the shapes of pancakes. I hate food which is to be intended to be savoury being sweet, and I can't eat sweet food in the mornings anyway, so I sulked for a bit and then pushed my plate away. Strike two.

So, surprise surprise, London, Ontario has all the same street names as our London. Plus, a Covent Garden, a market a million times better than our one. It was indoors, but filled with gift stalls, cakes, organic produce....wow, I could have stayed forever. But by then, it was time to get our bus to Detroit, so our journey continued...

You will notice that a bus from London, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan crosses the Canada-US border. I had gone to great lengths to ensure we were ready for this border crossing, contacting our visa organisation, the embassy, Greyhound....and was told all we needed was a passport. Luckily, I am effecient, and also carried US money, our flights home from Canada, our train tickets out of the States, our visa info (all of which had a yellow residue from the aforementioned leak). As it turns out, prior to June 1st, it was really easy to cross the border via Greyhound (especially for British holidaymakers) but unfortunately, the regulations changed on June 1st, the day before we travelled.

Here follows ninety minutes of threatening questioning from the US Border Control, who have a big sign claiming they will treat everyone with equal respect and courtesy. Unless you're Seamus and me, apparently. I'm not sure if they were just exercising their power for kicks, or if it was our Canadian visas that confused them, but they were rude, intimidating and very stupid. We told them we were going to Chicago for seven days to visit family, that we have Canadian visas, that we will return to Canada next Wednesday, that we have over $12,000 to support ourselves (plus British accounts, containing more money, and credit cards). It seems they thought it was suspicious that two young people had so much money. Or that we are a couple (because we're from different countries). Or that we have family in Chicago. Or that we went to Russia once. Or that we have Canadian visas (they tried to tell me that we won't get back into Canada next week, because they don't understand our visas). At one point, they'd let Seamus through, but seemed to be backtracking on me. One guy on our bus, Pedro, was taken into a back room and never returned to the bus. I was worried the same thing was going to happen to me, as all around me, chirpy British tourists were let straight through for their week-long holidays in the States. But we weren't. Strike three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

FINALLY, they allowed us through (after demanding my money for a tourist visa...which I am happy to pay for, but would have appreciated a please or thank you somewhere in the transaction) and our bus took us to the Detroit bus station, by which point I was angry and tired. We had to take a train to Chicago, which involved a lot of walking in shady areas, and another bus. Thank goodness Amtrak was good to us. I watched movies on the train, and ate fudge. We got into Chicago ten minutes early, but had to wait an hour for the train to the area Seamus' family live. Strike eleven...I was so tired and cranky and Seamus called me a 'stinkyface'. Eventually, at 12.30am, Wednesday morning, having left our hostel in Banff at 8.30pm, Monday night, we got to bed in a comfy bed in Seamus' uncle's house. I hate travelling.

Bye Rockies.

2009-06-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

It's a shame that the last place we're staying in western Canada is Banff since we don't like it very much (whilst we've LOVED everywhere else we've been). It's a weird town. Of course, the mountains are amazing, and it's pretty here, but really, it feels like Disneyworld or some Barbie town. It's just one big resort, aimed at tourists, and tourists with money at that. It's too big, and there's no animals for miles, and no community. It's so PERFECT looking, but not in a good way. Give me Jasper or Waterton anyday. We went to a few pubs last night with some other people, and they were rammed full of Australian/British 18-year-olds getting drunk, and trying to have sex with anything they could find. It was like Freshers' Week, but without the semi-aim of education. Everyone was drunk and rude and embarrassing, and beer cost $7.50 (nearly £4). I just have mixed feelings about it here, because it's beautiful, but just feels a bit unreal.

Another thing about Jasper and Banff is how full they are with RVs. I've never seen so many in my life! The streets are packed with elderly British tourists looking for the gondola and hot springs. There are more RVs than people, unlike Waterton, where there are more deer than people. I am so glad we didn't choose Banff to work in. I love Waterton's close-knit community, and wildlife everywhere, and everything's in walking distance, and there are....fewer tacky gift shops. And I truly think it's more beautiful. Look at that photo of me, at the top of Tunnel Mountain in Banff. It's the most popular hike in Banff, because it's short and easy, and has a good view, but it's nothing compared to the views from Bear's Hump in Waterton.

Anyway, we went for a good walk today, and had a final Rockies meal in an english pub (the chips were terrible). Seamus was overjoyed with the size of his steak and kidney pie though.

Tonight we're taking an epic journey from Banff to Chicago. We leave Banff at 7.30pm tonight (Monday), and are due to arrive in Chicago at 10.40pm Tuesday (although Seamus' uncle says the trains often run five hours late...). First we take a shuttle bus from Banff to Calgary Airport (yay, my least favourite Canadian place!), then fly to London, Ontario. After that, we get a bus from London to Detroit, then finally a train to Chicago. This is less than half of what it would've cost to fly directly from Calgary to Chicago, but it's not going to be much fun.

Camping at Saturday Night Lake.

2009-06-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

1)Seamus setting off on the trail to Saturday Night Lake.
2)Our tent!
3)Our fire! We are amazing at making fire. We kept it burning all afternoon and evening. I feel like a proper Canadian now.
4)Along the hike.
5)Me at Saturday Night Lake at 7am.

On Friday, Seamus and I went hiking and camping backcountry in Jasper. We really wanted to do this in the Rockies while we were here, and this was our only chance because Waterton was so snowy. It was such a good (and scary) adventure! This is prime bear country, so I spent the whole time panicking that we were going to be eaten by bears, even though the statistics of getting hit by a falling tree are far greater. So, you'll see dear readers, that I am not complacent about bears per se, just not that excited when I see them now. I'm still really scared of them, and take good precautions to avoid being eaten. I spent our whole camping time terrified a bear would come to the campsite...but it didn't! Unless there were a whole gang of them partying outside our tent during the night.

Anyway, we hiked up the lake in the HOT sunshine, built a fire, cooked a meal, and relaxed (or, as much as I could relax, given my bear concerns). It stayed warm until we went to bed, around 10pm, but unfortunately, we had not anticipated how cold the ground would be (it makes sense given the six months of cold winter we get around here). So, the air temperature wasn't too low (it got to about zero) but the ground was FREEZING. We didn't sleep much, but at least it took away my bear worries. I think I was so cold I was hallucinating. At one point, I asked Seamus if we were dying. But WE DID NOT DIE. Neither bears nor hypothermia could find us. Ha!

Our campsite was semi-primitive, which means it had a drop toilet, fire pit and bear pole. There were no other campers there, so we were all alone. Being at one with nature, and all that. It was good, if a bit scary. Seamus is a good camping partner! He always came to the toilet with me (because being approached by a bear when you have no knickers on is always the worst). He carried all the equipment, sang songs with me all the time (you're meant to make noise so bears know you're there) and did all the manly things around the campsite. I am a good firewood collector though.

More about Jasper tomorrow. Off for breakfast now.

Driving the Icefields Parkway.

2009-06-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, we left Banff for Jasper, the "other" national park in the Rockies. We took the trip with Moose Travel, a tour service for budget travellers. They're really good because 1)they're cheap and 2)they take you off the tourist route to see nicer, less crowded things. They were thirteen of us on the bus, and we spent the day driving down the Icefields Parkway, usually considered one of the most beautiful drives in the world. We made stops at some cool stuff on the way; lakes, waterfalls, glaciers. We went to the Columbian Icefield, which is overwhelming. They have these massive ice trucks that can actually drive onto the glacier. It's massive, the size of greater Vancouver.

In Jasper, we were staying the night in a wilderness cabin with the rest of the tour group. The manager, Sacha, was wonderful. There was no running water, and just basic lighting - no other electricity. The toilets were just drop toilets outdoors, and Sacha told us a really gross story about the "poo cones" that build up there in winter (from all the poo freezing into a tower). That's my kind of story. Anyway, we made a delicious dinner, then sat round the campfire playing games. It was such a great place to stay.

The next morning, we left our tour group and headed into Jasper town centre to embark on the next adventure....camping in the backcountry. By ourselves...in an area frequented by bears...

An update.

2009-05-31T17:58:00.000-07:00

We're back in Banff for the night after a very adventurous few days. We saw so many cool things! And stayed in a wilderness cabin, and camped backcountry, and saw glaciers, and made a fire of our own, and saw three more bears, and discovered that Jasper is better than Banff, but Waterton is the best.

Tomorrow we're going to Chicago (although we're not going to arrive there until Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, in what will be the longest-journey-ever). I will try and put some new photos up soon, because I have THOUSANDS.

Sulphur Mountain, Banff.

2009-05-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

A few photos from today.

Tomorrow morning, we're leaving for Jasper, and I think we won't have internet until Saturday night (or later), so there'll be no contact until then. See you on the flipside, team xxx

Goodbye to Waterton.

2009-05-27T15:12:00.001-07:00

Our managers, Claudia and Darcy.

Yesterday morning, we said goodbye again, and forever. We had a lovely holiday in Waterton, and we did stop to think whether we should be leaving such a lovely place when summer's just beginning. But then we came to our senses, and remembered we don't want to work for a company we don't believe in, with co-workers who don't care about their jobs, sharing a flat with drunk, stoned teenagers. Waterton is lovely in summer, too lovely to have to spend 40 hours a week working. We spent our holiday walking, eating, talking, playing Monopoly, wildlife-spotting and spending time with awesome people. Hopefully the rest of our travels can be just like that...

And now we're in Banff, and I realise how much better Waterton is. Banff is beautiful, but crowded and touristy, and there's no deer on the pavements, and no community (I doubt the postmaster here would care about me). Ok, so I like peace and quiet, but even objectively, Banff is not as beautiful as Waterton. Waterton is so small that you're right in the middle of the mountains. In Banff, everything good is out of town. Apparently, the town has more gift shops than any other similar-sized area in North America. It's horrible.

But, we're having fun. Last night we went to a pub quiz, and won the first round but lost the second round. Today, we paid a stupid amount of money to ride the gondola up Sulphur Mt, and took lots of photos whilst surrounded by Australian and British middle-aged tourists. There are British people EVERYWHERE. Although, Banff gets so many Japanese tourists that there are actually shop signs in Japanese, and menus have Japanese-language versions. There was a question in the quiz yesterday about which nationality spends the most money visiting other countries, the answer being Japan, which is truly highlighted everywhere you look in Banff. I think Germans must be next in the list. Every hostel is Canada is full of Australians, Germans and British (the Japanese must stay in the nice hotels, hence spending the most money).

Golfing with bears.

2009-05-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

On our last night in Waterton, we went up to the golf course. The boys played a round ($11 on staff night! Isn't that amazing?) and afterwards, we had dinner in the club house. Apparently it's not a great course in terms of quality of playing (but I don't care about that, since my job was to drive the cart and take the flag thing out of the holes) but it's a pretty nice view, isn't it? Not that you can really get bad views in Waterton. We came across a huge bear on the course. Look at him! That's eight bears in five days. I've had my fill now, though, I don't mind if I never see another bear in my life. I'm almost becoming complacent now, in manner of the deer (we have more deer on the streets of Waterton than cars or humans). No more bears, please and thank you.

My first bear jam.

2009-05-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

LOOK AT THIS! I wasn't zooming in either; this bear really is only about 15 feet away. A bear jam is when you get caught in a line of cars that've stopped to take pictures of a bear. We were driving down the Red Rock Canyon road at prime bear-spotting time (7pm), and we saw a row of cars ahead, so we knew there was a bear. Actually, it was a mum and two cubs. I'm trying to resist the urge to be girly and pathetic but HOW CUTE IS THAT?

A boat trip.

2009-05-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Alex, Seamus and I took the boat trip across to Glacier National Park in Montana. Once the Customs Office is set up, you're allowed to get off the boat and hike, but we couldn't, so we just cruised around. Saturday was such a beautiful day.
1)The US Customs Office. I think the Americans are a bit behind the times. I think this border is the biggest undefended US border anywhere.
2)A moose and a baby moose.
3)The mountains reflected in the lake.

Seamus climbs a mountain.

2009-05-24T23:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I really wish Seamus would just write his own blog entries, so I wouldn't have to keep trying to recreate his adventures for the blogging world (i.e. my mum). Sometimes, we actually do things separately, and it wouldn't be fair for you to assume that everything I write is representative of Seamus too. He doesn't even read what I write! I could be writing anything about him, and how annoying he is when he wants to watch sport all the time on tv, whilst simultaneously clicking 'refresh' on livescore.com/nhl.com/tribalwars.com. Or when he won't make me tea in the evenings, because he says it'll mean I can't sleep. Or when he goes to bed really early and leaves me alone and bored when I can't sleep because I've been drinking tea. I could be writing about all these things in this blog, and he would never know!

Anyway, as I said, despite the fact that we have been spending nearly all our time together in Canada, we do actually have some different experiences. For example, I enjoyed my job 90% of the time. Seamus hated his. I spend quite a lot of time drinking with some friends and watching Gossip Girl, whilst Seamus watches sport all the time on tv, whilst simultaneously clicking 'refresh' on livescore.com/nhl.com/tribalwars.com. So, what I write doesn't necessarily cover what HE is feeling. Still, I don't think he's going to start blogging anytime soon, so you'll have to take my word for it that he's having a good time. And that, yesterday, he climbed a mountain with his friends (whilst I sat on a patio and drank juice). They had a near-death experience, when a huge boulder nearly hit them. They didn't get home until 11pm. But they had a lovely time, and didn't get bitten by any ticks, and ate some hard-boiled eggs on top of a cliff, which is a good time in anyone's book.

Friday in Waterton.

2009-05-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Friday was beautiful and hot. We went for a lovely walk, had a barbeque for Al's birthday, and went to the bar. Photos from top to bottom:
1)The boys just before they jumped in the lake.
2)A unicorn.
3)Al and his birthday cinnamon bun.
4)Me at the lake.
5)Me paddling (it was cold).

Seamus has gone to climb a mountain with the boys, so I think I'll go hang out in the sun. Waterton is a truly lovely place to come on holiday to. Shame about the work.

Cycling to Red Rock Canyon.

2009-05-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Seamus and I borrowed bikes and cycled to Red Rock Canyon, which was closed the entire time we were in Waterton. It was about 35kms there and back, and a beautiful day, and everything was green (except the rock, which was...red). We saw bald eagles, chipmunks, ground squirrels, deer, big-horned sheep and....BEARS! My first bears. You can barely make them out in the photo, there, but they are definitely bears, a mum and two cubs.

We spent the evening hanging out with friends, and it is really nice to be back and know it is only for a couple of days. Our final payslips were wrong, of course (not enough bonus and no housing deposit returned) so it's good we're here to fight for that back. Seamus is at the gym, then we'll go for breakfast and a hike. I love being on holiday!

The longest free ferry ride in the world.

2009-05-21T23:11:00.000-07:00

Our last full day in Nelson was rainy but nice. We took "the longest free ferry ride in the world", which is always something I wanted to achieve (along with seeing "the oldest rock formation in the Rockies", "the most photographed tree in Canada" and "the most photographed hotel in North America"). It's cool to have dreams, you know. Anyway, the ferry is basically a commuter ferry that goes across Kootenay Lake. We arrived there with an hour before the next ferry, so went to a really nice pub whilst we waited, then we arrived back to the dock an hour before our bus back into town, so spent another hour in the pub. It pretty much turned into a day of drinking. I took a lot of photos, but they're all cloudy, because that was all the day held for us. Heavy rain, and grey cloud. Still, it was pretty cool, and I like free stuff. We stayed at a really good hostel the night before we left Nelson, maybe I should do some kind of hostel/hotel rating on this blog at some point. Maybe some point like tonight, when Seamus has gone to bed, and I am bored.

Anyway, on Wednesday, we woke up very early, and took an eight hour bus ride back into Alberta, and now we're....in Waterton. Yeah, travelling is full of new things. I think when we decided to come back to Waterton for a few days, we thought we might miss it, or that we might be missing out on some amazing summer fun. Well, we weren't, but it's nice to be back, especially since we're not working. So far, we've drunk a lot, and today we cycled to Red Rock Canyon and back (about 35km total). My hands got sunburnt. It was beautiful though, and we saw bears! My first bears! It's good to see everyone, but really, I didn't miss this PLACE at all. It's good to be on holiday, though. I'll post some Waterton photos tomorrow...it's all GREEN here now, no snow! Such a change in two weeks.

In and around the farm.

2009-05-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

We leave the farm tomorrow morning, following two weeks of hard work, good food, frustrating conversations with four-year-olds, and being woken up at 4am by a singing two-year-old. Here are a few photos from around the farm. Look at the beautiful views! Look at the tinest carrot in the world! Look at Seamus surrounded by a lot of trees! We've seen a lot of hummingbirds since we were here, but they move too fast for photos. They're tiny! We also saw a beaver. It's always good to see wildlife. Anyway, we're spending tomorrow day and night in Nelson, before our 5.40am coach Wednesday morning. The next few months are going to move so fast. We'll be home in no time.

The delights of Nelson.

2009-05-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

A few photos from our day our on Saturday. I look like an idiot in the one of both of us (punching above my weight, much?) but there's so few photos of both of us that I have to put it there as proof. Just so you know Seamus and I still like each other after spending 24 hours a day together for the past seven months.

The one of me is at Cottonwood Falls (could a waterfall possibly have a more twee name?), where we went to the lovely market. Then we have Seamus, enjoying some ice-cream. The ice-cream was organic (of course, this is Nelson) and delicious. It was a treat after two weeks of no sugar. But don't you think it's unfair that if you eat really well, and barely drink alcohol, then you feel awful when you DO have a drink or vast quantities of ice-cream? I had two glasses of cider on Saturday, and felt crappy on Sunday, even though I have frequently had six glasses of cider in a day, and felt fine the next morning. Surely those with good diets should be rewarded when they have a treat?

Hitchhiking in Nelson, and thoughts on travelling.

2009-05-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

When our farm hosts told us to hitchhike into town, I won't lie, I was a little appalled. And when I tried to explain that in the UK, people don't do that, they said "yes they do! We saw it!". I said, well, normal people don't do it, and of course, I am a snob. But it's true, isn't it? It's not something you'd do unless you were desperate. Which we rarely are, since much of the UK has decent bus services, or you just don't go to places without a lift. But in Nelson, hitchhiking is an acceptable, community-driven thing. So, since we live 3 hours walk from town, hitchhiking has become second nature.

Generally, we're picked up by women on their way to feed their horses or collect their children. Today, we were picked up by a young man whose first words to us were "I hope you like gangster rap". And then we got into a conversation about organic farms, which just goes to show, you shouldn't judge by taste in music. Hitchhiking is another way to meet people you wouldn't usually meet, just like working on farms. Later in our travels, we are couchsurfing, which is through a website that facilitates people staying on strangers' couches. Let's hope my mum is busy today, and that she doesn't get round to reading this blog. Anyway, all of these things are interesting ways to see something new. They depend upon trust and respect, and break up the endless rotation of hostels and train stations whilst travelling. So far, the people we've met in hostels have been predominantly Australian/British teenagers who wants to get drunk and/or laid. I have met so many interesting, REAL people in Canada, most of whom aren't Canadian, and weren't travelling themselves. Further thoughts on Canadians will be in an upcoming blog. The family we're staying with now are originally from Russia and Switzerland, by way of Quebec and Israel (yeah, there's a lot of languages floating around, especially if you include 4-year-old Bill's secret language, Oxit). They've had very interesting lives, and have taught me a lot (not all of which I agree with), and I doubt I'd have been exposed to this in a hostel setting. Besides which, living and working with people provides you with a whole different backdrop to just chatting in a hostel common room, or going to the pub.

On the subject of hitchhiking, anyway, I found a book in the secondhand bookshop today, called Timbit Nation, the story of a Canadian journalist who hitchhiked from east to west in the hope of finding the real identity of Canada (Timbits are doughnut holes that you can buy from the coffee shop chain, Tim Horton's, which is generally regarded as being much more ethical than Starbucks et al, but probably isn't in reality. Timbits are delicious). I love that kind of thing.

Aside from hitchhiking and other potentially-dangerous activities, we had a wonderful day today. We spent the day in town, doing "errands" (Katy-and-Seamus speak for "buying stuff and drinking beer"). We had to buy some gifts (for our hosts, and also some upcoming birthdays...), and we bought some fudge and new books (we're getting through books at an alarming speed now we're on the road). I ate a delicious tofu wrap, and drank some flat Strongbow. Travelling's great, forget what I said about meeting interesting people, it's all about the meals!

Living with children.

2009-05-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

The family we're staying with have two kids, aged four and two. I'd forgotten how much hard work kids of those ages can be. Let's call them Bill and Bob. Bill is very clever, he taught himself to read when he was two, and is obsessed with astronomy. He reads, draws and writes endlessly. Bob is two, and when we first got here, we thought he was an angel. All he did was smile at everyone. Now he's lost his shyness and we see the truth. For some reason, he refers to both Seamus and me as 'Seamus'. I don't know if he genuinely believes we're both called Seamus, or if he thinks 'Seamus' is a collective term for helpers/guests. Anyway, conversations can be confusing:

[Seamus is washing up in the kitchen. Bob enters]
Bob: Hi!
Seamus: Hi.
Bob: Where's Seamus?
Seamus: ....I'm Seamus.
Bob: No, the other Seamus.
Seamus: What other Seamus?
Bob: DIFFERENT Seamus.
Seamus: You mean Katy?
Bob: Yes, the different Seamus.

This happens approximately thirty times a day.

Right now, Bill is crying because he needs a star on his ceiling before he can sleep. Seamus is quite a good parent figure. I think he could work out well as a husband. Lots of patience. Unlike me. I feel....tense.

The Shell Waterton Project.

2009-05-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

For the last few years, Waterton's had a lot of Shell employees staying in the hotels and eating in the restaurants. Shell have an ongoing project just outside of the park, of which I don't really understand because none of the workers will tell me. When I ask what they do at the project, they generally mutter things about "hell" and "struggles", and I know it has something to do with oil, but that's about all I could tell you.

One of the leaders of the project, Mr Simms, ate and drank in the Kilmorey every night, and ended up being a good friend. He taught me about ways to be a better server, bar tricks, engineering ceremonies, and Alberta liquor laws. He was part of the (now dissolved) Waterton Government. And just before we left, he held a big party for the end of the Shell Waterton Project. Seamus and I went along, ate, drank and I won a Shell hoody (size XXL) in the raffle. I never win in raffles! I am one of life's winners. It was a good party.

So, because I have neglected to tell you about my friend Mr Simms, here's a few photos from the Shell party. The people are (top photo, left to right): Alex, Tiff, Mr Simms, Claudia and myself. Alex is my best friend in Waterton, she's Slovakian and we like to talk about love and relationships. Tiff is my Front Desk co-worker, the only other member of staff that was on the Front Desk for the whole period that I was. Claudia is my wonderful, wonderful boss. She's from Essen, Germany, and the kindest, most amazing boss of all time. She looked after Seamus and me so well. When we left, she gave us thermos cups for our tea and some other gifts. She also had a hoody made for me with my name and 'Kilmorey Lodge' on it. We also had hoodies made for members of the Waterton Government. This meant I gained three jumpers during my time in Waterton, which is why I have spent several hundred dollars in the last few weeks, posting surplus clothes back home.

Thanks for the emails etc I received about my dog. It's made me a bit homesick, the first time I've been homesick the entire seven months I've been in Canada. Both my cat and dog have died whilst I've been away. I think this is the sign I have finally reached adulthood; my childhood pets have all died. However, I wasn't acting very adult yesterday (I cried whilst weeding the vegetable patch, then wiped my face with muddy hands...it was a disaster). But today, I feel much more adult. Still a bit sad though.

RIP Nemo.

2009-05-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

Nemo Bennett, 4th June 1998 - 11th May 2009

One more thing to add to the list of reasons why 2009 sucks.

Hiking in Nelson.

2009-05-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

Our farm is about five miles from Nelson. I know this because I walked home from town, after we'd hiked up Pulpit Rock. It was a lovely hike, with amazing views. We found a bug, the biggest bug I've ever seen. I wore my new hat and looked like an intrepid explorer. Seamus wore his new bandana and looked like a Canadian. Afterwards we went for a drink (we found an "Irish" pub that sold Guiness and Strongbow at a very high cost) and Chinese. I love Nelson, maybe more than any other place in Canada so far.

Today, I have blisters.

The farm in Nelson.

2009-05-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

There's lots to say about our life right now, but not much internet time. For the last few days, I've been weeding, washing windows, cleaning cars, cleaning houses, washing up, cooking, raking, babysitting, and doing physio with a four-year-old. It's really interesting living with this family, because they are so unlike any family I know. We have probably eaten better this week than in the rest of our lives. We're also getting plenty of sleep, not drinking alcohol, not watching television, and going for lots of walks. My insides must be dancing with all the goodness. It's a beautiful day, and Nelson is still AMAZING. I love it here, and feel so comfortable. I would rather live here than Waterton (especially since Waterton continues to be a gong show in our absence...). It's such a cool city, with under 10,000 people, so perfect for me. There's plenty to do, beautiful scenery, lots of hiking, and everything is organic. That's everything I want from a place! I think Seamus likes it too, although he may need some convincing that this is the place we should move to.

Anyway, I must go now, I have some pictures to draw with the kids. Oh, by the way, cute as these kids are, I am fairly certain I cannot work with children. Or have children. Or be near children for extended periods of time. Sorry, mum.

Roadtrip to Nelson.

2009-05-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we drove to Nelson with Al and Alex. Unfortunately, they'll be going home tomorrow but for now, we are minibreaking! Nelson is BEAUTIFUL and full of hippies. We left sunny Alberta for rainy BC, but everything is so green, and the air is humid again. It feels like home. I love Nelson, it has so many cute shops, and hills, and trees everywhere, and buildings that look like castles. Today, we walked around, ate a lot, climbed a little mountain, walked a labyrinth....we're going for dinner soon. I am enjoying being on the road again, and from tomorrow night, our home will be a farm. More later...

Last few days in Waterton.

2009-05-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

Because we have so much snow, it's been hard to do much during our few days off. We went for a drive and saw some chipmunks and ground squirrels, I sunbathed on a rock, we packed, went for a drink....and that's pretty much it.

We are leaving at 3pm today! We're going on a roadtrip with Al and Alex to Nelson, where we'll spend a couple of days before we go to the farm to start work there.

Our boss, Claudia, gave us a thermos each, mine says 'cowgirl' and Seamus' 'cowboy'. Claudia is fantastic, she has taken care of us so well since we've been here. I'll miss her.

THE END.

2009-04-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

WE ARE DONE! I am so happy! The last few days at work were pretty crappy, for one reason or another. Finishing was so good. I finished at 3pm, and Seamus was working until 4.30pm, so I had a martini the second I finished...alone. Then we went back to the Resort for the evening for a lot of drinking, and talking, and some pool. I got a bit drunk...but it was fun. The weather's warm and sunny again, so we have a nice few days ahead of us before we leave for Nelson.

I am so proud, we managed six months in this place! We are heroes. I love Waterton but I'm so glad to be leaving.

(We're watching the hockey (go Canucks!) and it just occurred to me what an awful song 'Oh Canada' is. It has NO TUNE.)

OMG PLEASE STOP SNOWING.

2009-04-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

The sunny photo was taken seven days ago. The snow photos were taken today. The "view" from our apartment, and our building from outside. THIS IS STUPID. What is wrong with Waterton? We had 26 degrees and sunshine for ages and now this. Where did spring go? The snow is waist-high outside. It hasn't stopped snowing in days...not even for a minute. The snowplough went into a ditch so the roads haven't been cleared, and it's impossible to walk anywhere. STOP STOP STOP. Tomorrow is our last day of work, then we have three days off (because our manager is an angel), and we were hoping to do some hikes. Now what will we do? Drink, most likely. This winter is TOO LONG.

Lack of sleep.

2009-04-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

I AM SO TIRED. I was woken up at 3.14am by some boys screaming. Don't worry, they weren't children. They just aren't worthy of being referred to as 'men'. The boys live in the flat across the hall, and keep us awake most nights by:

a)going to the gym at 1am, and GRUNTING with every weight they lift (the gym is directly below our bedroom)
b)getting way too involved with whatever computer games they play
c)having parties almost every night of the week
d)banging on our door at 2am to see if we'd like to come to aforementioned parties
e)throwing bedframes down the stairs

Every night for the past week, we have been woken up by them. It hasn't always been this bad...primarily because they only moved in recently. But I also think it's a sign that summer is coming. Everyone in Waterton is way too excited....both our co-workers, and the big-horned sheep. We are more and more convinced every day that we could not survive here in the summer. Sure, Waterton is beautiful, and there'd be more hikes open but faced with the following prospects:

a)working 40 hours a week in a shitty job
b)sharing our flat with two 19-year-old stoners
c)putting up with staff parties all night, every night
d)Waterton being packed full of tourists

Yeah...we're ready to leave. I am way too old and boring to put up with what we're dealing with right now. Seamus and I both start work at 6.45am most days, and being woken up every night kind of wrecks my chirpy demeanour. Today is my one day off this week, and now I realise it's even worse to be woken up when you don't have to work the next day.

I can't wait to get an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep! But then I remember...we're staying in hostels for most of the next three months...I forsee a lot of crankiness this summer...

No more Box 178.

2009-04-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

We are leaving Waterton in NINE DAYS. Five more days of work, four more days of relaxing. For this reason, please do not use the Box 178 address! I will close this PO Box next week. No more post and chocolatey gifts for us :(

If you do have any reason to send us stuff, we will be staying with Seamus' family for a week at the beginning of June. I can give you their address if you need it. And yes, mum, the address is correct. North American addresses are crazy short. And boring. I have to ask people their addresses about fifty times a day when they call the hotel to make reservations. This is a typical Canadian address:

14, 182 17th St West
Calgary, Alberta
T1M 2J0

How boring is that? I wouldn't want my street to be a NUMBER. That can never be a point of conversation, can it? Like, some British street names are really cute, or mean something historically/geographically. Can you imagine a conversation about living on 17th street? "Ah cool...that's...right next to 16th Street..."? Some people LOVE grid systems. I hate them. I like windy roads, and non-grids make much more sense to my apparently chaotic mind. Do you think this is a legitimate reason not to move to Canada?

March for Maddie.

2009-04-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I read a blog post on Alpha Mummy about Maddie Spohr. Maddie was a seventeen-month old girl from California who died a couple a weeks ago. Her mother writes a blog about her family and their life. Unfortunately, I didn't find this blog until after Maddie died. I spent three evenings after work reading back over the entries, laughing, crying, and some in-betweens. Heather is a fantastic writer, funny and moving and clever. I don't know these people but I feel like I do. Maddie was premature, and underwent a lot of illness and pain in her life. But nearly all of the hundreds of photos on her mother's blog are of Maddie smiling, laughing and pulling faces. That girl was BEAUTIFUL. You can see the life and spirit in her eyes and smile in every photo. I feel so MUCH for Maddie's family right now, it's difficult to explain. I know I have a tendency to be overly sensitive, but I challenge you to watch the video a few posts down on Heather's blog and not cry. It's heartbreaking.

I have thought of Heather, Mike and Maddie every day over the last week or two. And so has the rest of the internet. In certain internet circles, people have turned their blogs purple for Maddie. March for Maddie is a series of sponsored walks in honour of Maddie, and with donations going to theMarch of Dimes Foundation. Thousands of people on Twitter are trying to persuadeHugh Jackman to donate $100,000 to March of Dimes in honour of Maddie (Hugh Jackman decided he would donate $100,000 to one individual's chosen charity, but the individual has to convince him in 140 or fewer characters, which is a very interesting idea from the social networking perspective...but that's for another time).

I know nobody who reads this knows Maddie or her family either but if you are touched like I have been, please post the following words into your twitter update:

RT @RealHughJackman PLEASE donate your $100k to March of Dimes in honor of my baby #Maddie http://tinyurl.com/dnewtk

Hopefully this'll help convince him to choose March of Dimes. Alternatively, if you are able to donate money to Heather and Mike's March for Maddie, please do so.

This post is purple for Maddie.

Snow and sore throats.

2009-04-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

After a ten days or so of 20 degrees and higher and sunshine, there's a snowfall warning for tonight. 15-20cm of snow overnight alone, apparently. That's not fair! It's nearly May! Honestly, the weather in the mountains is crazy. And I have a really sore throat, I think I am going to be ill for my days off. And only five more days of work left! Thank goodness...

Polar bear dip.

2009-04-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

The other day, Seamus and Al went swimming in the semi-icy lake. They've actually been meaning to do this since New Year's but it never happened. They are champs!

Another walk, another sunny day.

2009-04-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went on an exploration. Look at me, clambering over a tree! We saw some new wildlife, and Seamus skimmed stones (I took photos of him skimming stones, and put my hands in the icy lake then shrieked). And look at the photo of the mountains reflected in the lake! The lakes are melting, which is pretty exciting (clearly, our lives are a little boring) and Seamus and Al are going to do a polar bear dip tomorrow. Maybe. Everything is Waterton looks a bit ugly right now, because the snow's melting, highlighting the grey grass/trees/WORLD. Clearly, that one raining episode this week was not enough.

We leave in 16 days! Can you believe that? Six months is a very, very long time in the Waterton winter.

Moonlight drinking.

2009-04-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

It was full moon again the other day, so this time we went down to the lake and drank some brandy. Well...I didn't. I drank a beer. Alex, Al and Seamus are all brandy drinkers and every time we hang out, they end up drinking brandy in a classy and grown-up manner, whilst I swig beer from the bottle. I tried to like brandy, I really did, but it just felt like I'd lit my mouth on my fire. Why would anyone do that?

Of course, drinking in public in Canada is illegal, but this time, I stand by the usual excuse people use in Waterton to justify criminal activity ("but there's no RCMP in Waterton in winter anyway, so we may as well..."). Unfortunately, people also use this excuse when they drink-drive or speed here. Apparently getting caught is the worst potential outcome of drink-driving.

Drinking in public is totally ok though. To be honest, I feel a little like my civil rights are being violated by the law restricting drinking in public. What about summer....? There are also pretty much no beer gardens here. It's heartbreaking. Canadians must either a)drink indoors in the summer b)not drink in the summer. Hmm.

The first goodbyes.

2009-04-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

Last night Sue and Zen, our (ex)managers left to move to Victoria, and tomorrow morning, our friend Irina moves to Canmore. This means our clique is down to four (and goes to two once Seamus and I leave). Irina is the Russian I've mentioned a few times here. She is a fantastic woman. I have so many stories about her (her life has been so amazing, I'm just living vicariously through her). We met tonight for tea and cheese and bread, and talked and laughed and listened to Russian music. She gave Seamus and me a picture each. Mine is a sketch of our ski hill, and Seamus' is a beautiful painting of Bear's Hump (the mountain all our photos are taken from). Those are some pretty good souvenirs of our time in Waterton.

There's so many goodbyes right now, for one reason or another, but thankfully the next ones should be when we leave. At least then we're in control of the goodbyes. The photo above is me, Seamus, Al, Alex and Irina. Irina has the orange hair and is about fifteen years older than you'd guess. One of the kindest people I'v met here, even though I am convinced she and Seamus were having an affair (you should have seen the goodbye kissing between them tonight....maybe it's just a Russian thing)...

Rain.

2009-04-13T06:07:00.000-07:00

I just got up and it's RAINING. I am in shock, and hurt that the Canadian meteorological system would do this to me. It has rained ONCE since we were in Waterton (once! in five and a half months! Imagine that, British people!), really early on, and I haven't missed it at all. In fact, the lack of rain is what makes me want to live in Canada. Seamus said the other day that he "kind of misses" the rain, but we all know he's not that normal. I hate the rain, and have loved not having any. Give me snow and -30 over rain anyday. But now it's pouring and it's making me glum. And yet, a little excited because it means work will be quiet. Despite Canadians not really celebrating Easter, it's still been busy this weekend. Bring on Monday morning rain!

Sitting in the sun.

2009-04-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Seamus was working so I went for a walk alone. It was lovely. I saw big horned sheep and mule deer and white-tail deer. I sat up on the hill by the Prince of Wales Hotel, and got a little bit sunburnt. Even though the day was really bright, and the sky was really blue, for some reason this photo came out all grey and war-era. I like it though, it looks cool, don't you think?

A map.

2009-04-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

This is the best I can do. White dots are places we're stopping at. You'll probably have to click the map to enlarge it to full size.

I'm grumpy because I have to go to work now, and the Newfoundland leg of our trip is NOT WORKING OUT.

Fulfilling a lifelong destiny.

2009-04-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

Look! We are some of life's winners! I was soooo proud. We won a free lunch and everything (note that they had to specify the drinks were to be non-alcoholic. Management know us so well). It's kind of patronising actually, because we don't even try to keep our apartment extra-special clean, this is just its normal level of clean. Which indicates a lot about everyone else's apartments (with drugs and takeout food and loose women sprawled about, probably). But still; I love being rewarding for living my normal life and not really trying very hard. Yay for us!

Being a tourist.

2009-04-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

Excuse me for being a super-predictable tourist, but I am so excited to see Niagra Falls.

My Russian friend Irina always calls me by my Russian name. I can't spell it in english, but it's pronounced 'Ka-choo-sha'. It's nice, isn't it? I think it might catch on.

I am going for a run OUTSIDE, because there's no snow or ice on the roads, for the first time in months.

The Great Travelling Plan of 2009.

2009-04-07T18:27:00.000-07:00

So, after weeks of research and planning and me throwing tantrums, we have a travelling plan! We've already booked the three flights involved, and scheduled ourselves in for two farm "holidays", so it can't really be changed anymore. Thank goodness. Here it is:

May 3rd - Waterton to Nelson ("working holiday", staying on an organic farm for free, whilst helping with farm tasks)
May 21st - Nelson to Waterton (the bus goes through Waterton anyway, so we figured we'd stop by for a few days of summer hiking and relaxing)
May 26th - Waterton to Banff
May 28th - Banff to Jasper (a tour with Moose Travel for a few days, the journey goes up the Icefields Parkway, which is meant to be one of the world's most beautiful drives)
May 31st - Jasper to Banff
June 1st - Banff to London, Ontario (where we'll travel by train and bus to Chicago, because it works out as $400 rather than the $800+ of flying into Chicago. We can stay with Seamus' relatives in Chicago)
June 9th - Chicago to Toronto (another long bus ride...)
June 12th - Toronto to Algonquin Park (another tour with Moose Travel, so I'll be camping in the woods for my 25th birthday!)
June 14th - Algonquin Park to Toronto (another few days in Toronto, during which we'll also go to Niagra Falls)
June 20th - Toronto to Halifax, Nova Scotia (On a PLANE, this time)
June 23rd - Halifax to St. John's, Newfoundland (another plane)
June 26th - St John's to Deer Lake (where we'll hire a car...)
June 27th - Deer Lake to Gros Morne National Park (we are desperate to go there, purely because we saw a really nice photo of it....)
June 29th - Deer Lake to Port Aux Basque (spend a night while we wait for...)
June 30th - Port Aux Basque to North Sydney, Nova Scotia (on a ferry! we'll then get a bus to Baddeck, the second of our farm hosts)
July 17th - Baddeck to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (I've heard it's beautiful)
July 20th - Charlottetown to Fredericton, New Brunswick (we are going almost entirely because Seamus likes the word 'Fredericton')
July 22nd - Fredericton to Quebec City (on an overnight train....it's a long way...I am so excited about seeing Quebec!)
July 28th - Quebec City to Montreal
August 1st - Montreal to Ottawa
August 4th - Ottawa to Montreal (for our final few days in Canada!)
August 8th - Montreal to London Heathrow :( (back to a world where it rains a lot, and we have to be careful with money, and I don't have ANY deer in my back garden)

I would like to have a map of Canada here, with lines and arrows showing where we're going but I'm not clever enough. You get the idea, anyway. We are going to SO MANY PLACES. I think we're going to be exhausted. But we'll see so many things! (7 provinces in three months, plus a US state). It's going to be so amazing.

Spring found us at last.

2009-04-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today is beautiful, and the kind of day that makes me remember how special Waterton is. I went for a walk alone, and to take the recycling out, and the sun is shining and the snow is melting (actually, that part is kind of ugly, and means it's still necessary to wear snow boots, as four feet of snow becomes four feet of slush, and then four feet of water). There is a man playing guitar outside the Resort, I have no idea who he is, or why he picked a village with a population of 30 to busk in, but I was glad he was there. I went to the post office, and Bristol had a basket of chocolate eggs in for customers to take (she has chocolate on the counter for every occasion). As all the businesses in Waterton re-open next month, there's lots of people around doing construction work and painting their shops and restaurants, so lots of people to say hello to when you're out. Although I love Waterton in the winter, there is starting to be a real buzz around as more people arrive for the summer season. I am cleaning the house with the windows wide open, and my music playing. I wish I had an ice lolly!

Burn, winter, burn!

2009-04-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

I'm a little jealous because of all the posts on my friends' facebooks about the beautiful weather. Sunshine and beer gardens...it's just not fair. These photos were taken two days ago. Walking around the lake, the snow was past my knees. I want the sun on my face, and to be able to go for a walk without having to put snow boots on first. I want to drink by the lake (of course, this is illegal as well as cold in Canada) and play catch! I miss Canterbury at this time of year. I love the Albertan weather but the winter's seemed l-o-n-g and I want summer! Or even spring!

Customer service.

2009-04-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

Lately, we've had a succession of guests in the hotel who've been very unhappy because "there's nothing to do in Waterton". The complaints often relate to the limited satellite television we have here, the fact that all the shops are closed, and it's winter so it's cold outside. IN WHAT WORLD DO THEY THINK WE CONTROL THE WEATHER?? Why would people come on holiday to a national park in the winter and expect to watch television and go shopping? And why would you go on holiday somewhere without doing your research first? Every guidebook and internet search in the world would tell you that a)Waterton has very few amenities and b)THAT'S WHY PEOPLE LIKE IT. It's a place for hiking and skiing and generally being outdoors. Not for shopping. Stay in Calgary if you want to go shopping.

There's no reasoning with these people!

Also, as a tip for the world, as customers:
*Don't complain AFTER you've paid for a service. What do you expect to get out of it at that point? If you're really unhappy about something, complain as soon as you can! They'll try and help! After you've paid (or eaten your meal, or stayed in your hotel room), there's nothing they can do except say sorry. And if you're complaining about the weather, or the fact that you don't have enough imagination to entertain yourselves, don't expect to get much out of it. You'll just cause an otherwise chirpy and optimistic girl to becomed jaded and bitter.

I will never work in tourism after this, please.

Adventures in Whitehorse.

2009-04-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

So that's pretty much the end of our Yukon adventures. Here's a few things we learnt about the Yukon:
1)Dogs wear shoes.
2)There are murals EVERYWHERE. That photo above of the colourful shops and hotels? It's a painting on a wall.
3)Everyone is really proud of the SS Klondike (the ship above) on the waterfront. But it is on the ground! Not the water! Surely that's cheating?
4)Toilets are in huts in the forests.
5)Yukon chips are BRILLIANT! None of this skinny fries business...good, proper, thick chips! In every place we ate chips, they were of high quality. Yay!

Canadian wildlife.

2009-03-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

I love the deer in Waterton but I was glad for the opportunity to see more wildlife in the Yukon. We went on a tour of a wildlife preserve, and saw mountain goats, mountain sheep, muskox, bison, deer, elk, moose and caribou. My favourite were muskox (the photo above is from google, I didn't take it). They are a bit ugly and awkward-looking, but apparently their wool is some of the most expensive wool in the world! I liked the mountain goats too. Look how cute he is! On a mountain!

I climbed an ice tower!

2009-03-29T16:10:00.001-07:00

Whitehorse has the only permanent (well, permanent in the winter) ice climbing facility in the world. Every year, they hook up some hoses onto a frame, and leave them running until they freeze. Then they teach people how to climb safely on the tower. I was so scared of falling off (even though we were in harnesses) and sooo proud when I climbed the tower! Seamus got some ice shards in his face, and got a cool icy scar. It was a lovely day, and afterwards we went to the hot springs and lay in the warm water in-between the snowy mountains, with the sun beating down on us..aww it was lovely.