Travels and Adventures in North America
The weather this spring was not as pleasant as in past years but it was filled with surprises and adventure. Mum called in early April announcing that she was due to arrive around Mother's Day in Canada. I was left with all the planning and preparation ahead of her arrival. I thought visiting Ottawa and Montreal would be a great idea but what I did not know was I would visit four beautiful cities in the transition to summer. Mum arrived in early May when the flowers were beginning to bloom and bright yellow dandelion dotted lawns freshly rejuvenated by the spring showers. The following weekend my Uncle arrived in a Hyundai Tucson after a strenuous drive from Buffalo. I believe the Drive into Canada is an experience everyone should have the scenery is breath taking. I for one did cross the rainbow bridge last year and the view of the two frothy white falls surrounded by misty white puffs of shale and limestone were breath taking even thou the the golden sun choose to slumber late with the winters looming in the horizon. Early morning on Tuesday we drove out through the countryside to London Ontario a small town two an half hours west of Toronto. It was the town I started my life in six years ago as a student full of hopes and dreams. London is a beautiful forest city home to two universities and majority of the population are students and so in summer it virtually empties out. Connectivity is an issue with this town as it refused to bow down to the newer means of transportation that connect other cities in Ontario to Toronto. It is a quiet little town where most of the local inhabitants are either retired or are students at the local universities. But Saint Patrick's day in London Ontario is the most euphoric and anticipate event of the year. London is home to a children's park called storybook gardens and also to delicious fruit orchards. I had the Priceline of visiting Apple land the home of the golden empire apples and got to take a bag full of them of the branches way back in University.
On the way back from London we stopped over at this tiny farming town of Lucan. Lucan is a small wealthy town with barely any public transit connectivity to bigger cities.Most of people's wealth here is in the lands they own. It is a very agrarian community and they make their living by tilling the land. I must say even Canadian home grown produce is high quality and antibiotic free and has a bit a of freshness in every bite. As we entered Lucan by road we were greeted by vast expanses of open fields left brown after the crops had been harvested. The scenery of vast expanses of field with barns and silos in the distance along with cows and horses grazing lazily seemed right out of a storybook. Of purse the courses and horses and Canada are so well maintained an have the shiniest coat I have ever seen.As we took in the scenery and travelled into Lucan we decided to tantalize our taste buds at a Thai Restaurant in Lucan. Probably the only Thai restaurant in all of Lucan it was a family owned business run by Lao Thais.The lady serving us ran this business with her family. The locals sitting around in the restaurant awaiting their spicy Thai delicacies were burly country boys and men who probably were taking a break from their farming duties. We ordered steamed rice with a delicious Thai green curry, off course the fresh farm air and all that driving had worked up our appetites so we even ordered a second helping.
On Wednesday Early morning we drove out to the beach in Grand bend. Grand bend beach lies in the coast of Lake Huron one of Canada's greatest sources of fresh water. We just drove and drove through wide expanses of greenery and open fields. I'd say summer and fall are the best times to drive through Canada the scenery is at its breath taking best. We had to park at quite a distance so as we walked toward the beach the route was filled with tiny shacks that catered to the tourists. Grand bend like Wasaga beach gets quite a foot fall of tourists during the summer season. Since we had gone in late spring when the water is pretty frigid the shacks had fallen silent and were yet to awake from their slumber and transform grand bend into the beach town that it is. On approaching the beach entrance the high point is a sail boat ensconced in the round about inviting you to grand bend beach to take in the sun sand and lake, unfortunately we have all lake beaches in Canada and very few sea beaches in Canada.
After changing into flip flops we took a long walk on the beach. the sand was very soft and grainy and hidden in the sand were the most amazing rocks smoothened and rounded by the waves. The rocks each of different colours owning to the different minerals and materials in the solid were fascinating. It reminded me much of the soft sand and fragile ecosystem at Gibraltar beach at Centre Island Toronto. I once visited Gibraltar beach with a friend and I was fascinated to learn people were trying to preserve the beach ecosystem there. Gibraltar beach was more pristine compared to Grand bend which is more commercialized and is a source of income for the town of Grand Bend. But it was lovely to see families out an about at the beach and little kids digging in the sand attempting to build sand castles which they would some day make in reality when the time comes. It was sunny, hot and definitely beach weather for us Canadians. On Thursday we went to Niagara Falls a destination which is an eternal tourist spot that never looses its charm. This was probably my third trip to Niagara with Mum. But this time we went to Niagara because my uncle had to drive back to Buffalo to pick up my Aunt. She was also coming up to Canada to meet me and mum albeit two days after my Uncle. So mum and I took a long walk along the promenade extending along the opposite side to where the falls were cascading down the rocky undulating surfaces and disappearing into puffs of misty shale and limestone. Off course the first year I visited Niagara the wreckage of an old wooden ship ensconced in the Horseshoe falls used to intrigue me. Most often i would wonder how it got there and why no one moved it. This year off course the wreckage had been either moved or it got detached and plummeted in to its watery grave beneath the falls. In my opinion it is an unsolved mystery how the ship entered the falls.
This year we decided to take mum on the maid of the mist tour of the waterfalls which I attempted last summer in Niagara with my Uncle And Aunt who helped me fight my fear of water and enjoy the ride to the falls. The maid of the mist very aptly named is a huge boat with two levels there are two boats one that hosts USA tourists and the other that hosts Canadian tourists. But we have always done it from the Canadian side. The Maid of the mists is a boat that takes you close enough to the base of the falls and is accompanied by an audio guided tour with information about the falls. As the boat moves away from the pier it glides delicately along the American Niagara falls first and you get a glimpse of the slim an modest bridal veil falls which is where American tourists can enjoy a bath in the falls. The American Niagara Falls is a slightly smaller falls and in previous years it's been pretty low in water volume. This year off course the water worked hard at carving the rocks under and so it appeared a lot more fuller this year. The Canadian Niagara on the other hand is a huge "u" shaped water fall with pale blue water that cascades down and disappears into a plume of white limestone and shale mist. As you approach the falls the mist from the falls is like a heavy rainfall accompanied by the thunderous sound of the water on the rocks below. If your lucky enough on a bright sunny day as a result of the sunlight refracted though the water you might see the most beautiful rainbow. I was lucky enough to spot a rainbow on my first trip to Niagara.
All this touring had made us work up a good appetite so we trooped of to Kasbah a Mediterranean restaurant which had become a family favourite since my uncle, aunt and I visited the place last year. This year we decided that mum has to try Kasbah too. Kasbah is run by a true blue Greek man. The food at Kasbah is aromatic and delicious and has the capability to transport you to the Mediterranean. The first course was an array of creamy hummus' and baba ganoush with tortillas followed by falafels, pilaf and spinach pies and a big bowl of the freshest Greek salad with black olives. It was the best meal we ever had. Credit goes to my new Aunt for discovering the place. The meal was topped of with desert, being the I read lovers that we were we all choose ice cream baring my aunt who choose to experiment with baklava. I guess it was too sweet for the rest of us hence we stuck with ice cream. The Drive back was lazy an tiring and nights dinner composed of the remnants of our feast at Kasabah. That place is now an even bigger family favourite since mum enjoyed the food there too.
The sky was filled with soft grey fluffy clouds and we were blessed with April showers galore. We reached Ottawa on a rainy wet afternoon with the rain close at our heels. We checked into this place called Albert by the Bay Inn and Suites. The Foyer had an old world European look with dark wood interiors and lettering of the hotel name in gold. Mum and I were appreciate of the large jugs of cold water available at the over for people to pacify their thirst on arrival.
We were lucky enough to get an upgrade to a bigger room. The new room was like a fully furnished apartment with a kitchen an living area. At first we could not find the other bedroom after much searching and exploration in the suite my aunt found it tucked away along with an additional washroom behind the kitchen. This was my first time in Canadian hotels but I must say the bedrooms in Canadian Hotels are the Highpoint. Most of them are huge with humongous double beds. So mum an I choose to sleep like princesses that night with a double bed each to our selves. After checking in we decided to checkout the tourist spots. The first spot we drove to was the majestic Canadian parliament. It was a huge palatial building with a clock tower and an brown roofs parts of which had turned green owing to the severe winter and April showers. It had an old world charm owing to its brick facade and was quite reminiscent of the the clock tower architecture in England. The front lawns of the parliament are bare but the rear of the parliament building has beautiful statues commemorating landmark declarations in the history of Canada. One of the series of four statues portraying the declaration of woman's emancipation in Canada saying " women are persons "
Besides the statues the historic unesco world heritage site the Rideau canal lies behind the parliament and a path way skirts the canal to the front of the parliament. This time we went to Ottawa in time for them to commentate the 100th year of the ending of the First World War so the veterans memorial across the street was all decorated and enhanced by the beautiful flowers that bloomed all around. Adjacent to the veterans memorial was this display of pictures about the latest innovations in technology. After touring the parliament and the Rideau Canal we returned to the hotel and then decided to grab some dinner to our dismay ottawa as I was told is a quiet city an almost everything reverberates with a deadly silence by eight in the night since Ottawa has all the government offices. So after much searching we found a tiny Japanese place still bubbling with life. It seemed to be the hub of the university students in the area and the aromas were tantalizing. So we decided to experiment with Japanese Ramen. Mom an I stuck to the shoyu ramen which was a bowl full of swirly noodles in soup garnished with boiled eggs and cabbage. My uncle an aunt took the tonkotsu ramen which was a ramen which was prepared with seaweed. The ramen was delicious but too much for our tiny bellies. As per my uncle ramen is a very specialized dish despite how simple it looks. It takes a Japanese chef six years worth of training to create the perfect bowl of ramen.
The next morning we decided to tour the city center. The city center in Ottawa is so European. We decided to look into Byward market a local popular spot for tourists. Byward market had the charm of Nottinghill county in England which I experienced through movies. It was a market with many varieties of flowers, cheese, bread, and various cuisines. We did walk into a confectionary shop which Obama once visited when he visited Canada. The confectionary shops were like candy land with an assortment of confections in all shapes sizes and colours. Besides confections being sold there were little trinkets made by moulding real leaves and objects into plastic they looked so realistic and the object stuck inside would glow when the sun fell on them. Besides that there were the usual Canadian paraphernalia shop selling keepsakes and charms for tourists eager to capture their memories in something Canadian. In my opinion maple syrup is the best thing next to heaven to capture your Canadian memories in. The cutest thing we came a cross in a by lane near the parliament was this stuffy caribou on a rocking chair, he was most adorable we could not resist taking photos with him. I did try to practise my French which is still pretty basic i get totally stumped after basic salutations in the language,We ended our touring with Mexican tacos in this restaurant selected by my aunt but turns out there were two of the same restaurants and we entered the wrong one because we never ended up finding the right one. Three of us loved the tacos but my aunt being Latin American felt they were not authentic enough and so choose to have a middle Eastern lunch platter composed of pilaf a chicken leg and other things while we had fruit smoothies to wash down our tacos. The high point of lunch was the Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory which was filled with all sorts of chocolate confections. The caramel apple pops looked perfectly shiny and well glazed with a brown caramel and garnished with crushed nuts. We choose to have a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream it was minty green, creamy and fresh. As we sat in the city centre on wooden crate looking seating and had our ice cream we were entertained by this little social butterfly who chose to sit down right in the middle of the square and drink his milk following which he babbled and waved at other people after which he had a chat with dad.When his dad brought him back to where his mum was sitting next to us he began to wave and babble at us. He was a real cutie pie very cherub like indeed.
After having dessert we proceeded to the French city of Montreal. The entry into Montreal is very deceptive but when you reach the interior of Montreal it takes your breath away.Montreal is inherently French and is named after Mount Royal on which this beautiful city stands. Montreal is shrouded in history and is famous for its churches. The buildings have bad old world charm resulting from the prevalent gothic revival and neo gothic architecture all over Montreal. We checked into this Hotel called " Le Cantille " it was a beautiful hotel right in the heart of Montreal. In the evening mum and I decided to checkout the area and go exploring. About a five minute walk away from the hotel we stumbled into McGill university one of Montreal's famous academic institutions along with Concordia university. The university building is so historic and has many huge colonnades and carvings and has a reminiscence of English architecture after all it was built by a charter from King George IV and is named after a Scott merchant named James McGill on whose bequest it was made. McGill totally reminded me of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.That night we decided to check out the roof top of our hotel off course the view from the gym of the Montreal skyline was simple amazing and worthy of being the backdrop of a romantic date.
About a nine minute walk from the hotel was this beautiful church called " Cathedrale Marie Rene Dumonde" or Basilica of Mary queen of the world. The church is filled with new gothic architecture and the ceilings are covered in freckles and biblical quotes that resonates the history of the church. The alter is covered by a ciborium with four pillars covered with red and gold copper leaf and it has four cherubs that were carved in later years. The ciborium is a copy of the Baldocchini in St. Peter's in Rome. This church is a smaller model of St. Peter's in Rome and has the patron saints of all the parishes in Montreal on the front facade of the Roof which is green as with all Canadian historic monuments. The dome is humongous and the Church takes up most of the curb in the area and is a famous basilica in Montreal. We were privileged to attend a French Sunday Mass after a light breakfast in Fairmont Reine Elizabeth across the street from the basilica. off course we did not understand a word but the priests hand signs at certain parts of the mass helped us understand what was going on at mass.
We also visited "Notre Dame" in Montreal it is one of the most famous churches in Montreal and was once the largest church in North America off course it was over shot by another church in the USA. "Notre Dame" is a copy of the Notre Dame basilica in France and was built in Gothic revival style by and Irish Anglican man Named James O Donnell and he converted to Catholicism after building this church and is buried in the crypt beneath the church. "Notre Dame" is the High point of a Montreal tour and so as a result the line of tourists winded way down the road outside the basilica. The basilica is devoted to the holy name of Mary and was the venue for Celine Dion's Wedding and the late Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's Funeral. Montreal and Ottawa both are very European in Nature people are very well mannered and reserved. The town square effect is very European especially the town square inn front of Notre dame where you can witness live musicians playing beautiful music for a few pennies they'd collect in their instrument cases and most importantly cobbled path ways which remind me of when I visited Europe as a child on ship.
Besides Notre Dame we visited St Joseph's Oratory which is situated on Mount Royal. It is home to the sacred St Joseph's Chapel which has masses celebrated every hour. Besides that the oratory has great accommodation for tourists and a small cafe to suit dietary needs. The revenue from the cafe and accommodation goes to the Oratory. The approach to the oratory is down a sharp steep hill and then down a foot bridge and a couple of steps. If you are the kind that loves steps and steep slopes the oratory has plenty of that. I think the high point of the oratory was the silent pristine garden of the way of the cross. It was an oval garden built on a steep slope and as you walk through the garden you are greeted by beautiful magical carvings of each station of the cross. The carvings are literally life size and leave nothing to the imagination. The last carving of the station leads on to a fountain called the resurrection fountain which lay dry and covered with dead leaves from autumn last year. Off course the view from the oratory of the whole city of Montreal is breath taking and a popular view for photo back drops. Montreal and Ottawa are my still unfinished travel destinations. As a result of the shortage of time I left many places and tours unfinished. So I have many museums to see and light and sound shows to watch and chateaus to tour.Hopefully next year I get to go with my fiancé and complete the unfinished parts of my tour.On the whole since I have seen many parts Ontario I feel Montreal and Ottawa will Be my favourites and by going to Montreal I managed to add Quebec to my list of travelled places thou I'm yet to visit Quebec City and Gatineau. I love travelling and the knowledge that comes with Travelling. So as this travelogue comes to an end I hope the next year will bring more adventures for me.
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