So, it seems I have the uncanny ability to leave this blog neglected until I have too much stuff to recall!
So right now I am in the amazing Quebec City in the amazing French province of Quebec!! Quebec City is one of the places I wanted to visit in Canada the most, so I have been excitedly looking forward to it for ages!
Quebec City is 400 years old and is the oldest fortified city in North America. If that's not impressive enough, the entire old town is listed as a world heritage site. Apart from being amazingly beautiful, this city and province is full of culture, history and politics that would make even Belgium say "Holy shit balls"
We have been couch surfing with an amazing French Canadian and her two flat mates, and they have gone well above the call of duty of hosting. We arrived on her birthday, yet her dinner party was more about spoiling the two Aussie guests. We had some wicked fondue style French cuisine, followed by some beers in town in some trendy micro brewery pubs. To top the night off, we went to a wicked late night take away store and had amazing Quebec poutine! Poutine originated in Quebec, and I have been waiting to come here to try it. I was not disappointed!
I could write an entire post just on our time here, but I will save that for a few quiet beers one day.
So last I checked we were in Banff. On our last day Liam and I hired a car and ventured north to see Lake Louise and the Columbia Icefield. The Lake was amazing, but unfortunately for us, despite a beautiful day, by the time we made it to the icefield, the weather turned and the haze was so thick we could barely see the first glacier! Gutted!
The next day we bussed it to Calgary, where we stayed with one of Liams friends from Victoria. We stayed at her parents house, and they were great. Sophie drove us around and introduced us to her friends. I can't say we saw too much of Calgary, but the host was wicked and we had a good time.
Next I managed to convince Liam to break up the potential 2000 km bus ride to Thunder Bay, and stop after 12 hours in Winnipeg in Manitoba. Now I am going to mention how hard it was to convince Liam to stop here. He had heard from people that Saskatchewan and Manitoba were shit and wastes of time, so we shouldn't even bother stopping there, even though we had a bus that cost us nothing extra, and we had free accommodation while couch surfing. Being from Adelaide, we get this a lot. Australians from other states tell people how shit and boring it is despite never actually going there, or doing any research. Because of this, I felt compelled to see what Winnipeg had to offer.
Our host was lovely, but just wanted to show off her Aussie couch surfers to her friends at the pubs and clubs. Couch surfing is a double edged sword. The fact strangers are letting us in their homes and staying for free is amazing. At the same time though, we came here to try and learn about the place and its culture, and you can't do that sitting in a pub spending all your money on piss for 3 days. Even the most boring of cities have more to offer than pubs.
So anyway, we did manage to get out and about for a few days, and what I did see I found interesting. it definitely wont be up there with the prettiest cities i've been to, but it has its own story which is worth telling.
After Winnipeg we bussed to Thunder Bay in Ontario to check out Lake Superior. Thunder Bay itself is a hovel, and the hostel was a dogs breakfast, but I did see my first great lake, so that is a plus. Most of the 2 days spent there was in Mcdonalds eating there $2 big macs, as the weather was rubbish and the town is basically just a township for people to base themselves for the mines.
Next stop was Elliot Lake for a day to see Liams grandmother. She was very lovely and cooked us a nice meal for tea. Elliot Lake is a beautiful little town that has been through some hard times, and it was great to see the colours of the leaves changed for fall.
Next stop was Ottawa, which will be my new home until after new year. We only spent 2 days before heading off again, but our host was amazing and the town is beautiful.
Montreal was next, but due to time constraints, could only spend two nights (One kaleidoscopey) there before venturing off.
Now we are in Quebec City, and I will be here for a week before going back to Montreal for another 3 or 4 days, and then back to Ottawa where Mandy is coming back to visit for 10 days!
This will be an interesting test to see how compatible we are together and whether Victoria was a holiday romance, or the start of something serious.....
Time will tell, but I think things will work out fine.
Tonight Liam and I went our seperate ways. He is heading off to Halifax, and I am staying in Quebec for a few more days. Should be interesting traveling alone again. I'm going to enjoy my space for a few days at least!!
Anyway, best get to bed, few more days in this wicked city, then start making my way down to Ottawa again!
Bon nuit!
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